Beauvillage Chronicles:Episode 4:Miss Beauvillage
by HarpieKing07
Summary: A heavy battle is going on in Beauvillage among its teenage girls - a battle for the hearts of Miles and Wiseman, and its getting more heated by the day. Lola and Lily try to find a solution until the mayor finds another one - a beauty/talent contest and the special prize is a date with the one the winner chooses...and Cherie is determined to win.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A beautyfull dawn was breaking over Beauvillage. The little town´s most infamous rooster was starting to open its eyes as well. Looking from side to side, it took a deep breath ready to announce the start of the new day.

"CROOOOW..."

A second later however another sound was heared all trough the street, shaking it to the core – a voice coming from Beauvillage´s most known house.

"YAAAAAAAAAHHOOOOOOOOOO...!"

In fright, Cracker fell from the rooftop flapping his wings franticly to break the fall. He landed in the open window of Chichi´s room, exactly from where the sound came.

"Huh... Miles? What´s up...?"asked a still sleepy Chichi Tofu, poking his head from under the covers of his bed, his bare feet on the corner of his bed as he looked at the side of his room, where a large make-shift bed was.

Michael Miles, still barefeet in his black shirt and boxers was jumping up and down in the room, looking as though Christmas had come early.

"Today´s the day, Chich! The day with a capital, money-filled "D"!"exclaimed Miles excitedly waving his arms in the air like a lunatic, just as Cracker hopped from the window into Chichi´s room and onto Chichi´s shoulder.

Both the boy and the bird were giving Miles an extremly curious look. However a second later, something seemed to click in Chichi´s genius brain and the same look of utter happiness shined on his face.

"Y...you mean it´s... _Tuesday_?!"he asked in a happy and wonderous voice.

Miles gave him a big grin and a thumbs-up.

"You bet your baby blue eyes, genius-boy!"he exclaimed loudly and joyfully.

Chichi´s famous tenthousand-watt grin was growing larger and larger until.

"YAAAAHHHOOOOOO!"he whooped in pure joy and at once scrambled out of his bed, catching Cracker unprepared and the poor bird fell on Chichi´s bed with the covers falling over him.

"What´s with all the racket this morning?"asked Lola as she entered Chichi´s room, fully dressed yet still a bit sleepy.

She instantly regretted entering without knocking, for Miles and Chichi were franticly reaching for their clothes while stripping themselfs of their night-attire – clothing flying all across the room, Miles´ shirt falling over Cracker who finally managed to distangle himself from Chichi´s covers. Giving out a loud yelp, she swiftly closed the door. She was kinda used on seeing her baby-brother naked, having chaught him like that on numerous occasions during her life, but Michael Miles was a different story – dispite the physique that most girls in Beauvillage have been most interested in, **she** _definitely_ _**WASN´T**_! Fighting down the embarassed blush, she gave them a moment before entering the room once more, not forgetting to knock thistime. As she entered, she saw that both boys were already dressed and going over some sort of plan. Noticing her thistime, both gave her a happy grin – apparently not noticing, that she saw them beforehand.

"Good morning, sis."chirped Chichi brightly.

"Wassup, Lola."greeted Miles, giving her a tumbs-up.

Returning the smiles though a bit begrudgingly, Lola walked to them.

"Good morning, you two. I wanted to know, what was all the racket a while ago. And what´s that?"she asked curiously, looking over their shoulders at some paper, which listed several objects she wasn´t familiar with.

"A few things I have to get."answered Chichi as Lola read out the objects listed, flashing him a curious look.

"For the Hidehole."he added – giving the answer to everything.

Lola sighed.

"_Another_ project, Chichi? You should really take a break once in a while."

Lola already lost count to her brother´s numerous projects, which seem to pop up all the time. As soon as one was completed, her beloved baby brother would instantly come up with another. She thought, Chichi would have a nice rest after the Balthazar Bunglewood case, which ended mere two weeks ago. However, no such luck. As soon as two days have passed, Chichi was back online tinkering in the Hidehole as ussual.

"But this is _importaint_, Lola. Its the middle of October and though its still kinda warm outside, winter is definitely coming. I have to figure out how to keep the Hidehole warm over winter. Otherwise we won´t be able to go there."

Lola rolled her eyes.

"I´m not sure I see the point. Afterall the place was desighned as Miles´ home and for the past months he practicly lives here."she said giggling to herself a bit.

It was true. Mom, Pop and Buba insisted on letting Miles live here months ago, bunking with Chichi in his room – a thing that Chichi honestly didn´t mind. The elder Tofus claimed, that "There´s plenty of room for everyone" and in no time flat, Miles was proving to be a surprisingly good houseguest – helping around in the house whenever he was around, determined to do his share of work. In fact, just yesterday Lola saw him milking Suzie – the goat actually allowing him to do so, as though he were a member of the family. She supposed it was kinda nice to have him around. Only when...

"I only wish you guys wouldn´t be so... well, _focused_."she noted.

The pair faced her, bright innocent boyish grins plastered on their faces.

"We can´t help it, sis."said Chichi.

"Yup. That´s just how we are."nodded Miles.

Lola let out another giggle.

"All right, all right... you got me."she said affectionately, holding up her hands in mock-defeat.

The room rang with laughter as Cracker jumped on Chichi´s bed, free from Miles´ night – shirt. Sitting down on Chichi´s bed too, Lola studied some of the machines, as Miles and Chichi were packing their things. Even Cracker peeked at the list in curiosity as though he could read.

"Hm... Chichi some of these machine parts look very hard to come across... I can´t even recodnize the names of some. Where ever will you get them?"she asked.

Chichi grinned happily at her, even as he was taking out his Gzorbial statuette, which was his – not so secret stash, a place where he kept all his money.

"Lola, don´t you know what day it is?"

Lola looked at her brother quizzicly.

"Tuesday?"

Both boys nodded.

"And all of us have a shortened schoolday today, because..."

Lola thought about it, remembering. Suddenly her face lit up in joy.

"The National Outdoor Sales Day!"she exclaimed realizing just what had the two boys in such spirited moods.

"You got it!"exclaimed both of them happily.

"YAAAAHOOOO!"roared Lola, jumping from Chichi´s bed.

The middle of October held the National Outdoor Sale Day – a kind of traditional celebration, which had its roots almost a hudnred years back, when the trade in the shops wasn´t going all that well. On this day, every town in the country hosts a special outdoor sale, when merchendise of any sort is tax-free. The different towns swap their goods, so this means that on this day, people in Beauvillage are able to get some products, which they can´t get a hold of in their town... or any market for that matter. Lola and her best friend Lily, never missed an oppoturnity to get something new – there always are so many stands which hold something that captures their attention. Lola started to jump up and down in her joy, the boys joining her. Until she realized something.

"Oh no... I forgot, I spent the last of my pocket money on that new sweater yesterday."she whispered now remembering yesterday´s attack on the mall, she had with Lily.

Miles and Chichi looked at eachother. Suddenly Miles rummaged trough his pocket and pulled out a bill.

"Here Lola, use this."he said earnestly.

Lola was shocked.

"Are you serious?! I can´t accept this."

Miles however gave her an affectionate look.

"No ONE should be flat broke on a day like this. Lola... this is the National Outdoor Sale... its... its like my second _birthday_. On this extremely special day, I want everyone of my dear friends to enjoy themselfs and just buy, buy, buy anything their precious little hearts desire."

Lola was stricken at Miles´ passionate confession. Touched that he conciders her that way. But still...

"Miles, this is **50 bucks** you´re giving! Its way too much!"she reasoned.

Miles shook his head.

"I´ll get a lot more than that today, believe me. Plus let´s not forget that your folks are letting me stay here and they don´t ask a dime. Aaaand you helped me last Friday, when Wisey wanted to lock me up again."

All three of them remembered the event well. Last Friday, Miles drove into Beauvillage with some merchendize that was non-tradeable, supposed to be delivered to another town. Wiseman with the help of his brotherhood managed to find out and they were breathing on his neck. That is until Lola, who had been out with the girls had managed to throw them off track – no mean feat in itself, of course. But it seemed to have a effect on Miles, who was looking at her with tearfilled puppy eyes.

"You saved me from the ugly, mean and nasty Wisey-guysy who wanted to take away my treasure – which brought lots of _greed_ to my pocket I might add. I _have_ to repay you, Lola. You´re my _**hero**_."said Miles in a child-like voice before embracing Lola tightly.

Chichi laughed at the antics and even Lola giggled to herself happily before Miles released her.

"All right. I can´t pretend, that I don´t need it."she nodded taking the bill from him with a wide smile, while her brother smiled happily from the back.

Moments later, they went downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning, my little wildflowers. You three seem bright and sunny this morning."commented Mom happily as the threesome descended into the kitchen.

"Well of course we are, when there´s such a nice day infront of us."noted Miles happily as they sat down at the table.

Buba giggled.

"I could tell by those cries of happiness."she said affectionately, ruffling Chichi´s, Lola´s and even Miles´ hair gently.

"Pop already left?"asked Lola looking around the kitchen, just as Curly stepped up to her laying his head on her knee waiting to be scratched – something Lola did automaticly.

"That´s right. Mr Workalot set him and Ralph out into Cygnuville to work their stand."nodded Mom.

"Even Titus went with his alarms firm."added Buba.

The three men left very early in the morning – the road to Cygnuville being several hours long, in the Hubbubomobile, which now runs on Bio-diesel they cooked up. Titus was using the thing since Billy and Lola passed it to his friend years back. Only thistime Pop cooked up the fuel for the road.

Lola and Chichi fixed a look on eachother, before looking at their dear mother.

"Beauvillage is partnering Cygnuville this year?"asked Lola.

Mom and Buba nodded.

Cygnuville was a larger, very prosperous town on the other side of the country – something that takes about 10 to 12 hours to reach from Beauvillage. The town itself was nicknamed "The City of Art". Founded by french settlers more than two centuries ago, it has vast meadowns, a lake and numerous other landmarks which make it a uniuqe among the other towns. Over the years its high regard for art had made it into a town, where the greatest of the country´s movie, art and theatre production is centered. Most of the country´s greatest artists and actors moved into the town and more than 60% of the country´s adds to culture originated from there. That resulted into an increased sence of pride among its citizens. Nice and cassual they may be, but many people from other towns regard the citizens of Cygnuville to be a bit too proud and snobbish.

They ate their breakfast in silence, with only small interfierences from Cracker´s, Suzie´s and Curly´s antics. Swiftly eating her breakfast, Lola stood up.

"I have to get going now."

Chichi fixed her with a look, his mouth full of Mom´s dandylion surprise.

"This soon?"he inquired.

"Student´s comitee meeting."she answered.

Mom, Buba and Miles nodded.

Lola stood up and made for the kitchen front door. As soon as she opened it however, she immediatly fell to the floor, pressed down by a large pile of gift-wapped boxes containing chocolate and numerous other items.

"Lola! Are you all right?"asked Mom desperately as soon as Lola´s head popped up from the numerous gifts.

"JUST fine, Mom."said Lola trough gritted teeth.

"Where did that pile came from?"wondered Buba approaching the stack of chocolates and other presents which currently covered her granddaughter.

Lola knew very well, where... Afterall, most of the girls of her class were all crazy for Michael Miles, pestering her for information and even asking her to set them up for a date with him...

"Where the hell could those come from?"asked Miles in a small wonder as he and Chichi approached the pile.

"Three guesses, Miles. The girls of Beauvillage have sent you all these things."commented Chichi, while trying to get his beloved big sis from the pile.

For over the last week, the teenage girls of Beauvillage have desperately tried all kinds of ways to get the attention of Miles and even Wiseman – as strange as it seemed to Chichi and Lola. They even started to compete with one another in a frantic race for the two young men´s hearts and the battle was heating up by the day – a fact that now nearly everyone in Beauvillage - save for the two respective gentlemen in question, were painfully aware of.

Miles came closer, examining the gifts.

"Why chocolates though? I HATE chocolates..."he said, more to himself than anyone else.

"I don´t think the girls of Beauvillage know that, dear boy."noted Buba.

Both Tofu siblings had to agree with that. Miles however payed no attention to the comment. He was eying the pile and thinking hard about something.

Lola scrowled yet another time this week. She was starting to get fed up with the girls in her school, who were trying to gain Miles´ affection – for reasons she couldn´t very well grasp.

"WOW, COOL!"exclaimed Miles, suddenly getting an idea.

Lola and Chichi fixed him with a stare as Miles reached into his pocket, puling out his cell-phone.

"Yo! Andy! Yeah... well listen up, you´ve told me you have a shortage of chocolates and other stuff for your giftshop, right? Weeeeellll... I have just the thing to help you... I have... how much Chich?"he asked, turining his head on Chichi, who counted the chocolates.

"About 10 kilos."noted Chichi.

"7 kilos of chocolates, teddy bears and other stuff... what?... how much?... 2 dollars a piece... what?... yeah, I said 80 cents... you got it... 80 cents per one... right I´ll get them down to Easthill first thing tommorow."

Lola sighed once more.

"Michael Miles strikes again."she said, slapping her forehead as the rest of the house including the animals laughed.

...

Pop Tofu, Ralph and Titus weren´t Beauvillage´s only early risers. The Beauvillage Police Department was buzzing with life since the wee hours of morning. The big conference room was packed full. Nearly every single policeman in the town was present as well as the Brotherhood of the Wise in full number, as they were spending hours going over the plan.

"So. Patrols on the perimeter of the town will inspect every single car, that enters of leaves Beauvillage. Cars 1, 5 and 9 will block all roads to Beauvillage, backing up cars 2, 4 and 6. Team 5 will remain in the station and coordinate the other teams in case anything happens."said Wiseman, pointing to a map of Beauvillage on the blackboard, having the full attention of everyone in the room.

Since morning, he divided everyone into teams 1 to 10 and was now going over the tactics as well as the various duties of each team. He noticed one of the middle-aged policemen raise his hand in a question. Wiseman pointed to him and nodded.

"Detective, none of the teams are tasked with continuing the search for those crooks."he noted and several policemen nodded.

"The National Outdoor Sales day presents an incredible oppoturnity for them to sell the stolen equipment or steal some more. Mark my words – the crooks _will_ be present there."

"If they´re not already gone. They may have already gone to another town for that reason."noted Daniel Rogers – Oliver´s elder brother, much to the agreement of his fellow policemen.

"Which is precicely the reason I personally had the roads to Beauvillage closed down and left them monitored. Since last midnight in fact. And the only single car that passed out of Beauvillage since last night was that Hubbubimobile. I inspected personally and they were cleared for leave."explained Wiseman and the policemen gave him an admiring look.

The room was filled with a sence of unbreakable teamwork since early morning – which was something new and beautyfull to the policemen. Something which was absent over the reign of Wiseman´s predecessor – Detective Janette Hardcase, who was litterally feared by her underlings prior to her moving away from Beauvillage and persueing a higher police career in a different town, leaving the head - seat vacant without a second thought as well as the men of the Beauvillage Police Department splintered, disorganized and prone to make mistakes. When the mayor had Detective Wiseman fill the empty position, everyone was curious and upon the first few weeks confused about him. Though he proved to be a more relaxed boss, than his predecessor as well as incredibly tolerant – leaving his men some measure of free hand, something entirely new to them, everyone in the BVPD was still unsure about their new superior, as well as his three "brothers". The solving of the Balthazar Bunglewood case had been a wake-up call. Though the detective and his group gained incredible popularity, Wiseman hadn´t changed a thing about himself or the workings of the station. Much unlike Detective Hardcase, who following her successes had only enforeced harsher rules on her underlings, worrying more about her growing status in the police ranks rather than them. However last Thursday, Wiseman did something, that gained him his men´s neverending respect. A series of robberies has been occuring in Beauvillage since the end of the Bunglewood case. Machinery thefts – the machines being pretty expensive, from all around the town. Without any leads and clues. If that wasn´t enough, the Regional Police Commisionar had heared and personally came in. Having been monitoring the BVPD since the leaving of Detective Hardcase, he was extremly pissed about the lack of organization and at once had shouted himself hoarse in this very conference room. That was, until Detective Frederick Wiseman had arrived into the room.

_-Flashback-_

"_Will you STOP YELLING?!"exclaimed an annoyed Detective Wiseman walking into the conference room._

_A silence gripped the room. Even the Commisionar was stunned. Ussualy whenever he yelled, everyone kept quiet and trembled in fear. And the young detective merely stood there, a look of annoyance prominent on his face as he walked without any fear at all towards the platform where his elder superior was standing. The policemen were all shocked. Wiseman eighter didn´t know who he was dealing with, or just didn´t give a damn – well the detectives of the country ussualy enjoyed the same ranking like him though on a different field – they were answerable to the Chief Detective of their region, unlike the lower level policemen, who answered to the Regional Commisionar, in spite of taking orders from the Detectives of their towns. The Commisionar narrowed his eyes. _

"_Who the hell are _you_?!"he growled at Wiseman, finding him somewhat familiar, if comic. _

_Once more fearless, Wiseman crossed his arms and glared the elder man._

"_Detective Frederick Wiseman – the head of this department, _that´s_ who."he said cooly._

_The Commisionar´s jaw fell open. _

"_The _grandson_ of the great Sylvester Wiseman? The SON of the National Chief Detective Geroge Wiseman?! The detective responsible for solving the Ripgrab´s murder spree case?"he asked in a shocked voice._

"_AKA the Bunglewood case. Yes. That´s me."said Wiseman in the same cool voice. _

_The men narrowed their eyes, having seeing this scene before with Wiseman´s predecessor. The Commisionar would now try sucking up to the head – detective in the hope of controlling the going - ons in the station as he attempts everywhere around the region – a tactic that paradoxly works almost everywhere save Megacity, where the regional Chief Detective Ebenezer Sharkerly resided among other detectives. Shark refused to be manipulated by him and told him flat out, that he wasn´t about to have a careerist oversee how he ran things. This man and ol´Hardcase however, made their work a living hell a few years back. They watched the Commisionar shaking Wiseman´s hand vigorously. The careerist of a polieman obviously thought he hit the jackpot with a member of the famous Wiseman family. _

"_Andrew Cutout, _detective_ Wiseman."he introduced himself in a oily voice, that made several of the policemen watching sick to their stomaches._

"_Now that you know who I am, answer me one thing: Why in the hell are you yelling at my men like that?!" _

_The question hung in stony silence for a few moments leaving all parties surprised._

"_Well... you see, detective... the men aren´t producing the results I expect them to. The last string of robberies were the last straw. Surely _you_, a great detective are as unpleased with their results as I am."said Commisionar Cutout in the same oily voice, shooting the policemen a triumphant smirk._

"And here it comes._"thought several policemen as Wiseman was about to reply._

"_What _I _am unpleased at is, that these poor men have been working overtime for several days, trying their hardest to uncover this despicable crime only to find YOU yelling at them like some sort of a maniac."said Wiseman in an angry tone. _

_Once more, the room was filled with deadly silence. The men were scarcely able to believe it. Was Wiseman ACTUALY sticking up for them? The Commisionar looked as though he was slapped. _

"_B...but Detective... they fail to achieve the results neccessary..."_

_Wiseman snorted. _

"_I beg to differ, commisionar Cutout. Afterall I am PERSONALY overseeing this case and working along with my men. I know every bit and piece of every work done here. AND I and I ALONE am solely responsible for my men as their direct superior. That means only one thing, commisionar – ANY problem you´ve got with my men, you will discuss it with ME, and not call up some pointless meeting where you shout at them like an idiot! We have a lot of work to do and DO NOT need to hear being yelled at or be held up in any other way. If you truly want the results to show, then help my men out or leave them the hell alone."_

_The Commisionar was now glaring Wiseman._

"_With all due respect, detective Wiseman... aren´t you still a bit too young to question a senior law enforcement officer?"asked the Commisionar._

_Wiseman however sniffed. _

"_Perhaps I _am_ young. But I have responsibility for these good hard working men and NO ONE tells me how I should handle it. Mark my words, this case WILL be solved by the entire Beauvillage Police Department."promised Wiseman, gaining a whoop of aprooval from the policemen._

"_This... this is an outrage..."stuttered the Commisionar, but Wiseman wasn´t paying him any attention._

_He was now turned to his men, who were looking back at him with newfound respect. _

"_My fellow policemen, recently I have come to realize, that this station is NOT operating the way it should. Therefore let´s all work to improve ourselfs and double our efforts in this case. I will however not leave any of you in this alone. We will all work together on this as long as needed. And, my brothers and sisters – in arms, if we DO, we´ll eventually be able to transform this police station into the BEST CRIME-SOLVING MACHINE IN THE COUNTRY!"_

_The last coment did it. The policemen, both young and old stood up – a marvelous sence of teamwork hanging in the air – each let out a joyfull yell, waving their batons in the air, salluting their young Detective, even as the Commisionar looked on in disbelief._

_- End of Flashback - _

Following this little exchange, the Beauvillage Police Department was working as one – almost non-stop. The amazing sence of unity positively oozing from each and every member – even the young members of the Brotherhood which the policemen regarded as nothing short of their collagues – agreeing to Wiseman´s view, that members of the BVPD should regard eachother as family. Speaking of which...

"What will the boys do, in order to assist us, detective Wiseman?"asked one of the elder policemen while smiling at the three boys in question, who were sitting right beneath Wiseman.

"The boys will be stationed in the crowd. Keeping their eyes out for anything and signaling us with the walkie-talkies."said Wiseman, pointing at the boys who nodded and stood up.

"We will be there incognito, looking over the entire thing. Anything out of the ordinary will be reported straight away."vowed Nick, clenching his fist for emphasis.

"And just to be sure of your secrecy, mingle with the crowd."advised Wiseman.

"That´s no problem, brother. Emily promised to go with me. So we´ll be having two pairs of eyes on the lookout."revealed Archie proudly, while doing a joyfull salute.

"Unless of course you two are too busy _smooching_ eachother."said Nick teasingly, drawing good-natured laughter from everyone.

Indeed since Archie and Emily got together, some of the people in this room, including Wiseman, Tex and Nick have walked in on the two kissing on more occasions than they can count – the couple being completly drunk with love. Both young teens were incredibly sheepish about it and yet Archie found this side of their relationship deeply endearing. The only exception was last Friday, just as they were having their ussual make-out session in an empty classroom and they were discovered by noneother than his aunt - Mildred Starchy. That was one hell of an explosion if he did have to say so himself. By the time he got home, his mother was already waiting for him – demanding to know every single detail, but unlike her elder sister was incredibly happy for him. His father, watching the annual tenis match, only said "oh... okay" and returned back to the tv straight after picking up some food from the kitchen.

As the merry laughter in the room died out, Archie was left scratching his long hair and blushing with the same sheepish grin as always.

"Well... at least I´ll be incognito..."he muttered happily.

Wiseman seemed to take that into consideration.

"He´s right, brothers. Nick, Tex – find yourselfs someone to accompany you, if for no other reason than to help you blend in."

Nick and Tex looked at eachother. Almost in horror. Knowing what was going on in their heads, Wiseman cleared his throat.

"I don´t mean you find girlfriends. I meant just a friend to acompany you."

The explanation seemed to brighten up their faces, both looked visibly relieved.

"I´ll probably stick with my Dad in the Home-fix-it stand."said Tex, blushing a bit at the thought of asking some girl.

Wiseman gave a whoop of aprooval.

"_**Ingenious**_, little brother! That way, you´ll be right at the most importaint place!"

Everyone in the room knew, that Home-fix-it had a LOT of machines stolen just over the weekend and Tex took it personally.

"Allright. Dismissed. This plan is perfect my dear friends and mark my words, by tonight we´ll have these scumbags in our hands and we´ll see to it, that they end up in prision – TILL THEY ROT!"finished Wiseman, pounding on the blackboard behind him for emphasis.

However he pounded his fist on it so strongly, that the picture of their nation´s symbol had fallen down. And landed straight on Wiseman´s head – nearly knocking him out, yet still pressing him to the ground as he gripped his aching head. The three boys rushed to their big brother´s aid.

As the policemen started to rise and leave, the threesome pulled him up from the ground.

"You three should head for school. That nasty aunt of yours will surely be mad at all of you again."said Wiseman pointing to Archie.

"She´s _always_ mad, brother Fred."muttered Nick.

The two remaining boys only nodded as they reached for their schoolbags.

"Excuse me, detective."said a policeman in his late fourties, smiling at the foursome.

"Yes. What do you need, officer?"

The man produced an envilope.

"This came for you with the morning mail, detective Wiseman."he said, smiling knowingly as he passed Wiseman the pink envilope.

The three younger boys sighed at the sight of it.

"Another one?!"they said as one, just as Wiseman opened the envilope and started to read the letter.

"Dear Detective Wiseman. I have saw you walk past my house yesterday. You look so incredible in that coat of yours. Oh, what I wouldn´t give to be held in your arms. You are..."

The remaining four people listened to Wiseman read out the sweet and lovesick text, looking from one another.

"... I could reveal my identity of course, but that´s not neccessary. You´re an incredible Detective afterall. I´m sure you´ll have no trouble in finding out who I am and I am awaiting the moment you seek me out, my beloved Detective. Sighned – Your Secret Admirerer."

A moment´s silence hung. This was not the first letter like this. Wiseman had been getting letters from the secret admirer since last week. That and also...

"There was also this, detective. "said the policeman pointing to a large box at the door.

"Various gifts from what looks like a large number of admirers. Pens, pencils, notebooks, and a large number of chocolate boxes."he explained answering to the Brotherhood´s questioning looks.

"CHOCOLATES?! I LOVE chocolates."exclaimed Wiseman before making his way to the box hurriedly, throwing the letter aside as he ran. His underlings chuckling to themselfs and looking affectionately at their superior who was picking up the chocolates like an overjoyed child.

"What about this situation? This secret admirerer really seems to love him."asked Archie, eyeing the letter on the ground.

"Who could it be though?"wondered Tex.

The policeman chuckled.

"Hard to say, boys. You see several girls of Beauvillage are head over heels for him. My daughter included. Every single day I come home, she interrogates me all the time – detective Wiseman this and that... in fact she´s been begging me to put in a good word with the Detective."

The three boys once more looked at eachother and then at Wiseman, who was busy hungerly eating the chocolates, smearing his cheeks in the process.

"We´ll have to find out just _who_ is this secret admirer."commented Nick with determination, the remaining two only nodding.

...

Lily Robins ran as though for her life. Reaching the gate of Beauvillage High, she hurriedly entered the building and rushed to her classroom.

"_Damn it! I can´t believe this could happen._"she thought to herself angerly.

It was nearly time for class, she should´ve been here long ago. But unfortunately she didn´t get much sleep last night. Franticly reaching the door to her classroom she opened it and to her horror saw, that their homeroom professor - Rodney Philips was already there, reading who was and wasn´t present.

"Good morning, Lily. You are a little bit late."he said smilingly as she stepped into her class.

"I´m so sorry, Mr Philips. I unfortunately overlslept."she said in apology.

Philips however waved it off with a smile.

"Its no trouble, Lily. You are merely three minutes late, we haven´t started the lession yet. Now take your seat, so that we may begin."he said kindly.

As Lily moved towards her seat, she remained oblivious to the few glares she was getting from the female classmates.

"Philips is too lenient towards her."muttered Zoe, her glare on Lily as she sat down besides Lola, forgetting for the moment the fact, that he shown the same leniency to her as well as his other students on a handfull of occasions.

Cherie sniffed.

"What d´you expect? He´s a fan of that _book_ of hers."

It was merely a week after the release of the Great Mystery book. Mr Querelly´s team had taken to its task with utmost determination and the book in itself was published in a matter of four days – which had to be an all time record. Much to Lily´s surprise however, Querelly turned out to be quite right – the book was already becoming a bestseller and was litteraly sweeping the nation – the adventure of Detective Razor gaining incredible popularity the likes of which hasn´t been seen in over a decade. In fact it was swiftly becoming as popular as it could, people comparing it to that of the Dragon Lord story, which took the nation by a landslide. Just last Wednesday in fact, an overjoyed Mr Querelly arrived at Beauvillage High with a handfull of reporters wanting to interview her on the amazing story she came up with as well as the possibility of a sequel. Something which stunned the majority of the student body – though Lily now enjoyed their fanship as well – most of them becoming die-hard fans of the book. It was a bit of an paradox situation – she now had the respect and admiration of the majority of the boys in her school – something that tremendously annoyed the girl population, but right now wasn´t interested in any of them. And she couldn´t figure out why. In hopes of avoiding the stream of boys, rushing to speak with her, even offering her a date (which for the possibly first time ever she declined and continueing to do so on a daily basis – annoying her to no end and surprisingly Phil too) she chose to spend the majority of her days with her friends at the Tofu house or the Hidehole. The interview kinda shook her and made her feel under pressure of her success, but luckily Billy, Lola, April, Chichi, Phil and Miles have helped her overcome it – the bond between all of them deepening by the day as they helped her come to terms with the monster of a fame she earned herself. She very much doubted she would be able to write if not for them – she was feeling a bit uneasy at all the celebrity-level fame. She expected April, Lola and Billy to be nice about it but the reactions of Chichi, Miles and Phil surprised her. She never imagined them to be so supportive, even helpfull – since the two younger boys have become not only her fans, but also her confidants – Lola wasn´t very much a fan of adventure and action mysteries, but jokingly told her that when she´ll be writing a romance novel, Lily would definitely find help by her and April. Phil and Chichi however became a boatload of help – always offering a helpfull ear to her plot dilemas and by talking with them about her views and ideas ( exceptionately unafraid about spoiling the plot to them – the two boys being the only exceptions to the rule), finding their views and suggestions very inspiring. Truth be told, she doubted that the sequel would be going so well, if not for the two lovable boys – Phil, the more compassionate one offering guidance for the characters and situations and Chichi, the technical one advising her on technical things and ( the fact surprising her) on comedy – with hilarious results. She was incredibly surprised upon observing the comic exchanges between Phil, Chichi and Miles – this inspiring numerous funny moments in the sequel. Lola, Billy and April on the other hand helped her immensly with her growing popularity. In fact just this Saturday, Lola and Billy saved her from a gang of fan-boys who were insisting on her sighning them their books. Billy being the subtle and polite one managed to take hold of the situation with a kind of elegance, securing Lily her peace for the day (and securing himself a passionate make-out session from his beloved girlfriend, who was ever so appretiative of his _heroic_ act). She now found the Hidehole to be a virtual paradise and resorted to spend as much time there as possible – landing her with the company of Chichi and Miles more and more. Chichi, fiercely dedicated on his work resorted on working in the Hidehole on his various projects and gadgets, leaving Lily with Miles. Lily had a sneaky suspition about her changing feelings towards him earlier on – even before the Bunglewood case. Now however she was growing more and more attached to him – even joining him for a few of his little business trips, having tremendous fun. This fact kinda made her feel guilty to some extend. She berated herself that she´s having all this fun, when she should be concerning herself with writing the sequel. That´s until she confided to Phil and he told her flat out his views.

_- Flashback -_

"_... and I fear, that I´ve made too much of a name for myself."finished Lily taking a sip of her Coola in the Hidehole´s kitchen. _

_Phil took a sip of his own, his expression one of deep thought before he scooted towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder, his expression turning to one of utmost gentleness. _

"_Lily, all these people look up to you because you´re a talented writer. You have all the talent for this and I know, that you´re afraid that the sequel won´t measure up to the Great Mystery. Well, you have absolutely nothing to be afraid of, Lil. From the concepts you have, plus the concepts from the Bunglewood case coupled with your incredible talent this has the potentional to become one of the greatest novels of our time. You only have to believe in yourself, Lil. And I, Chichi and the others will assist you in any way you need. All you ever need is ... to ask."he finished simply in a compassionate voice, running his hand on her back gently in a consoling way. _

_Lily´s smile was getting bigger and bigger. She felt all the tension leaving her. _

"_And as for the fact, that you´re spending all this time with us, or just with Miles alone... well think of it as gathering new inspiration. You´re not bound by time, since Mr Querelly told you to take as much time as needed for the sequel. You´re not under pressure, Lil. Everyone is merely expecting the sequel, but no one ever said that it has to be complete tommorow."_

_Lily turned to her dear friend, her eyes full of emotion as she took him in her arms, hugging him gratefully. _

"_Thanks Phil."she said in a quiet voice, moved to the point of being unable to say any more. _

_Phil chuckled, returning the embrace happily. _

"_Anytime, Lil. Anytime at all..."he said quietly just as he gently lay his head on her shoulder._

_- End of Flashback -_

Happily sitting down at her seat, Lily felt her heart warm as she remembered the exchange.

"_I just can´t believe how... _sweet_ the little guy can be._"she thought for herself happily.

"Are you all right, Lily?"asked Lola worryingly, looking at her best friend with concern.

"Oh, I´m OK, Lola."she replied just as Philips started the lession.

The lession was a nice one – as were the most lessions with Professor Philips. As the bell rang, signaling the end of the pleasurable lession.

"Now everyone. I have one final question to ask."said Philips once more calling for attention, though doing nothing to stop the frantic packing going on at every table.

"I am right in assuming, that you are all going to be present at the Beauvillage´s Outdoor Sale. Am I right?"

The entire class erupted into a wave of agreement happily. Philips smiled back.

"In that case. I want to say, that I will be present at the stands and should any of you wish, you are more than welcome to join me there. With that much said... class dismissed."he said good-naturedly.

He was looking forward to the Outdoor Sale as much as any of them. He also had to admit to himself, that this class was the first one that he came to adore very much, feeling a sence of belonging. He did on every occasion possible spend time with his class making it more as a group than an actual class. Save for time in classes though. Nevertheless on more than one Professor meeting with Principal Whiterose, Melissa Morter had accused Rodney of being too lenient towards his class – often helping them along and even pardoning some minor misdeeds, so long as the weren´t actually serious. Overtime, not long after the class began their first year at the school, he made it a point to accuaint himself with his students, not just their names but getting to know them personally in the hopes of helping them achieving their fullest potentional. Which, as he looked at Lily who was now chatting with Lola, Billy and Steve, was something he had actually achieved at least with one person. Lily thanked him endlessly for his suggestion that promted her to write the book, that now most of the country taken a liking to. And of course HE himself had a copy of the book – procured by a very gratefull Lily and which she sighned for him upon his happy insistance.

"Well, Lily. You´ve only barely made it in today. Was there a particular reason for your oversleeping?"he asked curiously as he approached the four teen students.

Lily blushed slightly, sporting a sheepish smile.

"I... ended up writing into the night."she admitted, gaining a happy smile from Philips, Billy and Steve and an affectionate eyeroll from Lola.

"I knew it."said Lola in mock – sternness.

"So did I. So tell me, Lily... how is the Great Mystery 2 coming along? What is our Detective Razor up to?"asked Philips with a mischievous tone.

Lola and Lily giggled at their homeroom Professor´s boyish mischievousness.

"Not telling, professor."said Lily in the same mischoevous tone.

Philips put on a pleading puppy-eyed look.

"Now, Lily... Would you honestly deprive your most favourite Professor your concepts?"he asked in a childish voice, that made them all laugh.

"Yup. You along with everyone else. I´ve said so clearly – straight into the news I might add – NO peeking. You will all find out when the novel is complete and no sooner. NO exceptions."said Lily in a mock-stern voice.

Philips bowed his head and goaned theatrically, resembling a sulking 10 year old – much to the renewed laughter of Lola and Lily. He wasn´t the only one though. Steve goaned in much the same way and looked at Lily with the same puppy-eyed look.

"Awww... c´mon, Lily. Just some small clue? Pretty pleeeaaase?"he asked like a small boy asking for candy.

Both girls giggled once more and Billy too chuckled to himself at the antics.

"Nope! Not a line until the book is done. NO exceptions."she said in a final tone.

As Steve and Philips goaned theatricaly once more and Billy laughed, Lola came closer to Lily and whispered.

"And my dearest baby brother and his best friend _aren´t_ an exception?"she asked slyly.

Lily giggled and stuck out her tongue.

"Nope. They´re exceptio_nal_."

Lola now goaned with theatrics.

"Losing my best friend to my younger brother... oh, the shame."

The gang once more laughed, until they heared the bell ring again.

"Uh-oh. You guys better get to class. Or Melissa – I mean, _Professor_ Morter is going to bite your heads off."commented Philips with a wink, ushering them from his class.

After promising their beloved Professor to meet him at the sale, the foursome departed for the next classroom. As they entered the next classroom, they came to see a massive argument raging.

"I will be the one!"exclaimed Nina.

"No! ME!"screamed Mary.

That comment was downed by no less than 5 other girls including Cherie.

"What the hell is going on in here?"breathed Billy.

Lola grunted and glared at the exchange.

"What else? They´re argueing over who will be Miles´ girlfriend."

That comment shocked Steve completly. He fixed Lola a shocked stare before returning his sights on Cherie, who now widely proclaimed that the other girls don´t stand a chance against her and that SHE will be the one, who steals the heart of Michael Miles. Steve looked visibly hurt. Without another word he moved past the bickering girls, sitting down at his schooldesk looking as though the world had ended. The remaining three fixed him with a concerned stare.

"Poor Stevie. He never gets a break with her."commented Lily, whispering to her best friend – both girls knowing exactly how Steve felt about Cherie.

"I can´t understand why he actually fell in love with a girl like THAT!"replied Lola, glaring Cherie.

Though she knew, that Lily, Billy, Steve, Chris and Cherie were friends since kindergarden, long before her family moved to Beauvillage, she really had a hard time tolerating Cherie´s presence. Understanding, that dispite everything Billy still remains friends with her (for reasons she can´t grasp), she respects her boyfriend´s wish and at least tries to get along – which isn´t easy with Cherie. However, after the exchange Billy had with Cherie years back, right before he and Lola got together, Cherie had at least tried to be nicer – not to very much avail. However both girls considerably try to cool it for Billy´s sake. Over the course of their relationship, Lola has taken solace in the fact that SHE is Billy´s love – something which helped her live down some of the stuff Cherie pulled last year, not wanting to put Billy in between. Though truth be told, Cherie also loosened up – the nasty comments no longer present, especially because she knew that Billy would NOT tolerate them. Now obviously, Cherie was all gaga over Miles. However she completly failed to see, that all along – under her very nose is a boy, who deeply loves and adores her. Both Lola and Lily agreed, that Steve is too much of a nice guy for her. Both girls eyed him with concern once more, just as Billy moved on and sat besides him, starting up a conversation, trying to console him. All three of them tried to advise Steve numerous times, saying that perhaps he might set his sights on a girl, who actually _returns_ his attention – but Steve was adamant in this, dispite how many times he got hurt.

"_You´ll see... one day, she´ll come around._"he always said with optimism.

"But anyway, I have a feeling that this is getting out of hand."commented Lily, now eying the bickering girls – it seemed merely a matter of seconds before the argument would turn into an all - out brawl.

Lola sighed for the umpteenth time today.

"Lily... this has gotten out of hand _a week ago_."

Just then the brawl indeed started. Slaps, scratches, even punches were traded in such a chaotic way, that no one really knew who hit who. The boys in their class looked too intimidated to do anything about it, the girls who were out of this choose not to get involved.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

The feared yell of Professor Melissa Morter however put a promt end to it.

"Sheesh... we _have_ to do something about this, Lily."whispered Lola as they sat down at their desks – even while Professor Morter was yelling at the girls at the top of her well trained lungs.

"Even today´s student´s commitee meeting was a waste of time because of this. No work was done, because all the girls in the commitee wanted to know was if Miles would be attending the Outdoor sale or not."

Lily glared the girls, while thinking of their money-loving friend.

"No way in hell I´m letting Miles end up with _any_ of them."she growled.

...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Johnatan Haveitall – the mayor of Beauvillage, was not exactly calm right now. In fact he hadn´t been for about two hours. This year´s annual Outdoor sales day was going as planned, the people from Beauvillage and the businessmen and salesmen from Cygnuville were completly happy with the event – as he could tell while peeking from the window of his office, from where he enjoyed a wonderous view on the numerous stands on Town square. What was keeping him so uncomfortable right now was not the event, or the various sales going on there. It was the person, who was currently occupying his guest seat, that Haveitall politedly offered. A tall, thin man in his fifties, he was dressed in a stylish violet suit, which also revealed a bright orange shirt and around his neck was a brilliant silk light-blue scarf – an elegant touch. The briliant purple hat he wore was placed on Johnatan´s table and the custom-made rosewood walking stick – which he scarcely needed was placed besides the chair he was occupying. His thin face had a small, elegant mustache which he was twirling with the fingers of his free hand. Dispite his age, his short hair was jet-black and combed maticilously and shined with the generous ammount of hair-gel, he must´ve used. His sparkling green eyes were looking at the mayor brightly.

"I hope the event is in full course by now, Johnatan."said Jean La Jolie – the mayor of Cygnuville, in a quiet, silky sort of voice while sipping his wine happily one leg crossed over the other elegantly.

"By the looks of it, it sure is..."nodded mayor Haveitall.

"By the way, this is some delicious wine you´ve offered me. _Délicieux_, what brand is it? I _swear_ it must be French."asked La Jolie in a nonchalant manner.

Mayor Haveitall surpressed a laugh. The wine he offered him was the wine, that Michael Miles sold to him just two weeks prior.

"If I told you... you probably wouldn´t believe me."answered Haveitall with a small chuckle.

Interpreting this as a joke, La Jolie joined him with a chuckle of his own.

Indeed, he would hate to see La Jolie´s reaction, if he told him that this is a wine made by Tibetian Monks – as Miles told him so...

Jean La Jolie was a upper-class, no-nonsence, snobbish traditionalist extremly proud of his French heritage. Much like his father – who was the mayor of Cygnuville before him, he carried himself and acted as nothing short of a noble. From what Haveitall knew, he _did _indeed come from an old French noble lineage, though those times were long past. However he was a capable man, fit to govern the beautyfull city of Cygnuville and he _did_ oversee many projects and financed many events that gained him incredible popularity within the political circle of the nation – particuraly the conservative party. He wasn´t a bad man, but his slightly snobbish demaneour sometimes made him a difficult person to converse with. He was incredibly proud of his town and wasted no time in singing its praises on every possible oppoturnity. Only today did Johnatan finally realize _why_ was his predecessor – Evan Ripgrab on such bad terms with the La Jolies, particuraly his father – the former mayor of Cygnuville. Johnatan had to admit to himself, that after the last hour during which La Jolie bragged about his big town and its various culture projects, the famous and influential people he knew and was on first-name terms with, offending many other towns and even smirking at Beauvillage in his very office – even he, Johnatan Haveitall who was ussually a very calm and peace-loving person, was having a hard time in keeping his cool.

"What made you decide to visit our small town, Jean? On this day the mayors ussually stay home to oversee the event in their own towns."asked Johnatan, hoping to steer the conversation away towards a more pleasurable subject.

"Oh, well... I left all the work home to my deputy-mayor, just so I could come along with my _fiston_. I was interested in what work was done in your town, since I´ve last been here."he answered smiling pleasantly before taking another sip of his wine.

"That must´ve been a long time ago."nodded Johnatan kindly.

"23 years back, actually. When I was still being taught by my Papa in order to take over his business and the mayor´s chair of course. When that _pourceau_ Evan Ripgrab ran Beauvillage. And now we found out just what he _really_ was – a criminal and murderer."said La Jolie, recalling the Bunglewood case.

Johnatan Haveitall nodded solemnly.

"Yes... I was just as surprised as anyone when I found out just how much he was involved in, in his game of greed and power. I had no idea, that right under my nose – eversince I´ve moved here – was my parent´s murderer."he said with a hint of utmost hate.

"But there is another tale I heared about concerning that case. The Green Knights of Beauvillage. I heared, that _you_ were one of them."said La Jolie eyeing him with curiosity.

Johnatan smiled, remembering the old days when he, Luther, Philip, Matilda and of course, Balthazar were doing all they could to stop Ripgrab´s schemes.

"Well, we had the greatest leader."he said earnestly, smiling at the mere memory of Balthazar Bunglewood.

"_Une histoire incroyable_, Johnatan. In fact, one of our directors – Steven Hirelberg, voiced his wish to make a film about this. Even George Bookas said, that it may be _extremly_ inspiring for some new project of his, well since those _étrange Gzorbials_ are at their end..."

Johnatan flinched. THE most famous movie director of the country AND THE most famous storywriter – the creator of the Gzorbials _and_ Dragon Lord, taking an interest in this?

"Anyway, I wasn´t very much impressed by what I´ve seen here, Johnatan. I expected this town to be much more modernized. I realize, that this is ultimately better than Ripgrab´s industrial dream, but _really_... it looks more like a big city suberb than a town. I realize you have many new adds to the town, like the aquapark but aren´t you going too... _vert_ in your views for Beauvillage?"

Johnatan´s eyes betrayed a hint of angry annoyance.

"We _fought_ for this, Jean. Beauvillage doesn´t need to be some extra modern town. It has its own beauties and curiosities."

La Jolie smirked before taking another sip of wine.

"Its true, that your town has curiosities and was mentioned in many recent situations, but you have done nothing for the art of this country. You have no celebrities, or famous people."said La Jolie as though coming to the point.

"We have our _own_ people who are amazing and exceptional."replied mayor Haveitall coldly, glaring his snobbish collague.

La Jolie chuckled to himself.

"Of _that_ I´m sure, Johnatan. But ARE they famous? HAVE they left a mark on history? ARE they doing something, that will leave a legacy to the generations that will come after us?"

Johnatan was doing all he could to remain calm, but really... it was starting to be _impossible_.

"_**Too much**__, as Chichi Tofu would say_."he thought to himself even as he was trying to calm himself down.

Suddenly he realized something, that made him smile.

Mayor La Jolie took no notice of this, only sipped more wine happily. After a small moment, he gasped happily and reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, which was ringing.

"_Oui ... excellente, Jaq. Nous sommes sur la bonne voie_."

Johnatan quirked an eyebrow. Having spent most of his childhood Upcreek Valley, where over half of its inhabitants speak French, Johnatan understood French. However for some reason he couldn´t fully grasp – perhaps because of the time he was in Beauvillage and didn´t use it – he was now unable to speak it, merely understood what was spoken.

La Jolie finished his wine and stood up.

"Come with me downside, Johnatan. You will see, what I´m talking about."he said as he put on his briliant purple hat.

Johnatan smirked to himself.

"Yes, Jean. And _you_ will see, what _I´m_ talking about."

La Jolie fixed him with a curious look. Johnatan however only smiled pleasantly.

"Its time you see _real_ heroes."

...

The scene on the Town Hall square indeed looked amazing. Most of it was completly full in stands of various kind. For simplicity´s sake, the mayor decided that this year the square and the stands built upon it should be divided into four sectors, each holding something – one was holding various equipment, electronic objects, basicly something for every home handymen. The second held something for the ladies, the various clothing stands, beauty parlors – procured by Cygnuville specialists, stands that presented various jewlery and other fashionable objects, even the boys found something there, since there were two or three stands which held fad objects and stuff which the boys of Beauvillage would find highly "cool". The third held many things for pleasure and relax – make-shift cafés, a game arcade, various attractions for kids and teenagers alike and of course Beth´s Burger Palace stand, where Beth Hubbub was already catering to the needs of many people, who´s bright excitement have allowed them to forget, that food was a neccessary thing in life. The fourth was a market with grosseries from both Beauvillage and Cygnuville – a perfect chance for the mothers to get goods which would help them prepare incredible foods for their beloved families. As always, most of Beauvillagers were present and wasted no time in looking around the various stands, chatting happily among eachother and of course the various visitors from distant Cygnuville. Many also used this oppoturnity to close business deals with eachother, forger projects and fashion projects that would deliver some added bonuses to their ussual income – something which was the very reason of starting this tradition a century back.

The younsters of Beauvillage were looking forward to this occasion perhaps more than anyone else. Following the ring of the last class-bell of the day, both the elementary students as well as the high school ones positively raced from their classes in order to get home for their savings which they would gradually spend here. And of course, Lola and Chichi Tofu, along with Phil Conners, Lily Robins, Billy Hubbub and April Spock were no exception to the rule. Though thistime around the gang did not go together. Instead they divided according to their interests – Phil and Chichi raced down the electronics sector at top speed, gasping and breathing dreamily in their technological paradise, Lola and Lily on the other hand took their time happily, checking out the various fad stands that both Beauvillage and Cygnuville had to offer, then moving to the more importaint thing – clothing and beauty parlors, Billy on the other hand went along with the best friend from his class – Steve Rowan, both checking out the various sports goods that Cygnuvillians brought in, April moved along the various stand with Chloe – both girls chatting happily as they picked up a few sweets. The group would later regroup in the Hidehole as planned. All took note of a sector, which brought great interest to many of the teens of Beauvillage – The Privacy sector, which was set as close to the Town Hall as possible and was guarded by four policemen, Wiseman relieved of his intended plan upon the plea of his uncle – Mayor Haveitall. The reason, though supposed to be a secret was _somehow_ leaked and now all of the teens of Beauvillage knew, that this year´s Outdoor sale would be special, due to the presence of some of the country´s top celebrities attending – brought to Beauvillage at the request of Jean La Jolie, who just arrived at the sector with Mayor Haveitall. The sector was a simple stand, located in front of the Town Hall podium, and inside was a kind of a refreshment bar, with simple chairs and a large table, where the celebrities could spend their time before exiting the stand to surprise the people.

The surprise however wouldn´t be much surprising, as La Jolie grumpily commented as they walked into the tent.

"Well, ya´know Jean. This is a small town, nothing is kept secret around _here_. Way too many people talking if you understand..."replied Haveitall grinning sheepishly, forgetting to mention that it was HE who leaked the information to Frederick´s Brotherhood along with the instructions to make it as public as possible – something the three teen boys did with incredible efficiency.

"Well, no matter. Johnatan, it gives me great pleasure to introduce my special guests."he said dramaticly gesturing to the four people who were busy conversing with a young teen boy, who seemed to be politedly amusing them.

Johnatan eyed them carefully. The teenage boy was tall for his age, much taller than Johnatan himself, thin and dressed in cassual blue pants and a dark green turtle-neck sweater. Like La Jolie himself he had briliant jet-black hair, yet longer – so long in fact, that he tied it in a loose stylish ponytail and his face was a pleasant one – Johnatan could only imagine the reactions of the teenage girls of Beauvillage when this boy stepped out of the tent.

"My son, Jaq."said La Jolie gesturing to him as they all turned towards the two mayors.

Johnatan nodded, as the boy´s face turned to them sporting a brilliant smile.

"Papa. At last you´ve come."he said brightly as his father returned him a warm smile of his own.

Johnatan however paled a bit as he had not trouble recodnizing La Jolie´s other guests – though he knew who would come, actually seeing them infront of him was nothing short of amazing. The four men all eyed him with expressions of bright interest. Two of them were older than Johnatan himself, one a bit younger around his late thirties and the last one was the youngest nearing the end of his twenties. Johnatan couldn´t help but gap as La Jolie gestured proudly to each.

"This is Christopher Gee..."he said gesturing to the one who looked the eldest of them, a tall old man, the thinning short white hair shilghtly parting at the temples, he also sported a brilliant short, neatly trimmed beard which matched the color of his hair.

Johnatan only stared wide-eyed as he watched his most favourite actor – a man who in his long career had starred in countless movies all around the world – flash him a kind smile and nod as he shook his trembling hand.

"Mayor Haveitall, a great pleasure."he said in an aristocretic voice.

Johnatan only nodded dumbly.

"Pleasure is all mine, Mr Gee."he said weakly.

"Here we have Milton Weasel..."La Jolie carried on as the slightly shorter man stepped up, his hand outstreched.

This one was almost as old as Christopher Gee, and yet he gave out a sence of everlasting mischievous youth even if his appearance spoke otherwise. He also had short white hair and bears, but his was much shorter and unkept – natural one would say. He also wore glasses on his pleasantly smiling face, his blue eyes twinkling happily as he shook hands with the mayor.

"A great honor, Mayor Haveitall."the country´s top comedian, critic and also an actor had said grinningly.

Another man stepped towards them, his hand also outstretched. This one was in his late thirties and a very known face and name in the music business – being one of the country´s star singers.

"Adam Brians, mayor Haveitall."he said, shaking Johnatan´s hand – his shoulder long dark blonde hair waving from side to side as his pleasant face sported a good-natured grin.

Johnatan was feeling almost completly stunned from all the star power, that ammassed in the tent, whereas La Jolie looked positively in his element as he gestured to the last one, a fairly young man who was still sitting at the table, politely waiting his turn.

Now Johnatan positively gasped. This man, this young man who stood up was without a doubt the most wanted bachelour in the country and for obvious reasons. He was well built, sporting a small black mustache and wavy medium-length black hair which he hid under his black hat. He wore glasses, which during his teenage years earned him a lot of teasing and bullying – only to have proven all of them wrong, when he followed his dream and became an actor – an actor who´s fame grew merely after a few movies – skyrocketing him towards the stars. However he seemed to be a mellow fellow even after all the fame, remembering where he came from and being extremly polite – something, which was completly opposite from the characters he ussually played, including his most known one – an infamous pirate.

"And last but definitely not least, Johnny Jack."announced La Jolie as the young man came infront of them.

The young actor was dressed more leisurely than his collagues as though reflecting his age. He wore long black pants, blue plain sneakers, he wore a bright blue t-shirt, which was covered by a simple short-sleeved black jacket, matching his pants and hat. On his forearms were various fad objects including a matching black wristband, which had two yellow smileys on its sides – one a smiling face, another a frown.

"How about we sit down, mayor Haveitall? You look quite weak in the knees."he said good-naturedly as the mayor nodded dumbly and the group turned towards the table sitting down on their chairs.

"I trust that you have been enjoying yourselfs while you waited for us."said La Jolie kindly.

The four men nodded.

"Your son and _your_ daughter took care of that nicely. We were just enjoying a most pleasant conversation."said Christopher Gee, gesturing to the two respective mayors.

"We also highly enjoy the refreshments your humble little town offers."added Adam Brians kindly taking a sip from the fruitshake wine, that was present at the table along with various snacks and fruits.

"The strawberries are incredible and this wine is positively out of this world."nodded Johhny Jack taking a few strawberries into his hand and leisurely placing one inside his mouth, giving out a sound of contentment at the sweet taste.

"Those come from the Tofu´s garden. I´ve asked Mrs Tofu to give some for the occasion. I´m happy that you like them Johnny."chirped Angela Haveitall, who returned to the tent with a number of supplies and accompanied by Rodney Philips, who was helping her carry them and who gapped a little at the sight of the celebrities, who upon their arrival at once insisted on being on first-name terms with both Angela and Jaq.

The mayor Haveitall smiled at the sight of them as Rodney flashed him a gesture of greeting.

Answering to the curious looks at the cassually dressed newcomer, Johnatan gestured to him.

"Everyone, this is Rodney Philips – our long-time resident, teacher..."

"And all around good guy. We bumped into eachother as I was bringing the refreshments and he insisted on helping me."finished Angie, flashing her companion a radiant smile.

"Oh it was nothing, really. I´m just glad you didn´t injure yourself as you fell down."he replied nonchalantly, though scratching his short black hair and blushing slightly.

"A mellow fellow indeed."nodded Milton Weasel with a smile.

"Judging by the blush."he added with a wink, as everyone looked to him.

Sharing a small laugh, the celebrities invited Rodney to sit down with them, making him blush even more.

"Oh no... I couldn´t..."he started before Angela litteraly pushed him by the shoulders into one of the chairs.

"Oh, don´t be silly Rodney. Of course you can."she said rolling her eyes behind her glasses.

"I have heared about you, Mr Philips."started Milton, ignoring his boyish sheepishness and getting the attention of all present, who eyed him with interest while Rodney looked positively stricken.

"Your works on social critics have reached me and I must admit, I liked them very much. In fact judging by the works I expected someone older."he said, leaving Rodney blushing beet-red.

It was a well known fact, that among his many activities Milton Weasel was a great authority on social critics and studies for many years since he began his career. And to Rodney Philips, he was something of a role-model since his teenage years. Angie took some time t aqquaint them all with Rodney, whom she knew since early childhood and who even ended up being her homeroom teacher when she attended Beauvillage High almost 8 years back – when he started to teach there.

As a lengthy conversation started, Jaq La Jolie turned to his father.

"_Puis-je être excusé, Papa? Je veux aller voir les stands._"he asked and at his father´s nod excused himself politely to the others and left the stand.

The conversation was a spirited one and Johnatan Haveitall was secretly glad that the celebrities enjoyed Beauvillage and didn´t look down upon it. As it shown, La Jolie was a bti wrong about the town not having popular people, or the town itself seen as boring – much to La Jolie´s surprise. It seemed that each and every celebrity had their reasons to visit Beauvillage. They were intrugued at the happenings of Beauvillage most recently the drug case and more importaintly the Bunglewood case. The Green Knights of Beauvillage were one of the legends that reached them but also as Christopher Gee remarked, there was a rumor about a talented young boy-genius that lived in Beauvillage. Others remarked about a rumored ecological family, and an infamously greedy person that seem to liven up the town like no one else. Johnny Jack remarked, that he was unfamiliar with most of these rumors but they captured his interest and was incredibly curious about meeting these people.

"...I have heared about some incredible, detective Brotherhood that is operating here."said Adam Brians after Angie and Rodney finished telling them about the Tofus.

"Oh, that is true. A special brotherhood of crime-fighters was born here just a few months ago."nodded Johnatan, while La Jolie looked stricken, shocked even at the way that the conversation moved on.

Suddenly four men entered the tent. Two were dressed in work overalls, one in farm clothing and the last one who seemed to be leading them was dressed in a black suit, had a large black hat and a long black beard – looking like a rabbi. The only thing that was peculiar about him were the blue sunglasses gleaming on his eyes.

"Good, the three of you may go. And don´t forget – inform me of anything out of the ordinary."the rabbi like man said to his three compagnions, who nodded and left the tent.

Everyone at the table was shocked and puzzled as the man stepped closer to the table. Well, except Johnatan who flashed the man a proud smile, while Rodney and Angie had trouble keeping their laughter under control.

"Gentlemen allow me to introduce Beauvillage´s hero – Detective Frederick Wiseman."he said proudly as Wiseman pulled down the fake beard and the hat.

"A great pleasure, famous – people. But right now its Rabbi Abby Hawwy. Remember that we have a situation on our hands, mayor Haveitall."nodded Wiseman before turning to the mayor as the celebrities now wore a look of shock.

"THE legendary Detective Wiseman?"breathed La Jolie in pure shock.

"The leader of the _Brotherhood of the Wise_?"breathed Adam Brians.

"The man, who solved the greatest unsolved mystery of the country?"asked Christopher Gee in shock as Wiseman came closer.

"The one and only."chirped Angie happily, rejoicing for her sweet cousin, who had gained incredible popularity.

Wiseman nodded and pulled out the chair, looking positively besides himself with joy at the praise. So much in fact, that he failed to notice, that he pulled the chair far too much behind himself and as he made to sit down fell down to the floor.

"Are you all right, Detective?"asked Angie as she moved to pick him up.

"Of course I´m all right, Ms Haveitall."he said hurriedly, blushing with embaressment as his cousin helped him to his feet and pushed the chair towards him, before he sat down.

Most at the table didn´t know what to make of this, but remembered some of the rumors about him, which described him as a genius of criminology, who often plays a fool in order to decieve the criminals.

"You mentioned some situation on your hands, detective?"asked La Jolie.

"Yes. A group of robbers in our town. I expect them to hit here, so I have my men under cover as part of my ingenious plan."said Wiseman proudly.

Everyone instantly realized exactly _why_ they failed to see a single policeman save for those guarding the roads of Beauvillage and also the tent. And to think that La Jolie was complaining about lax security for the occasion. Everyone seemed to be incredibly impressed with the plan.

"So my men are scattered among the crowds in disguise and waiting for them to show up. As they try stealing something, we´ll grab them. Plus besides my men there´s still..."

Suddenly something screeched from his robes and he struggled to pull it out.

"_Wise 1... calling Wise 1. Over_."

Finally distangling it, Wiseman pulled out the walkie-talkie and answered.

"This is Wise 1, what is it Wise 3? Over."

"_Reporting sighting of two strange individuals moving across sector 1. Over._"said the voice of Tex Workalot.

Wiseman jumped out of the chair in excitement as the spectators gasped.

"Excellent Wise 3! Which way are they moving?"

A second of silence lingered.

"_Towards Sector 3 I think_."

Wiseman´s face shone in a derisive smirk.

"Wise 2, do you copy? Over."

"_Loud and clear Wise 1, over_."came the voice of Nick Meanfull, though for some reason he sounded angry.

"Are you near Sector 3?"asked Wiseman excitedly.

From the other side of the walkie-talkie he heared Nick growl.

"_We´re IN Sector 3. The princess has to take time to get some sweets_."he growled and the spectators wondered whether this was some sort of Brotherhood code.

"_Shut the hell up, Nick. What´s your problem?!_"sounded another voice – the voice of Mia Liferich – Nick´s escort for the occasion.

Instantly they heared another growl over the walkie-talkie.

"_We´re on a mission, Mia! We´re supposed to keep a lookout and not gallop around sweet stands!_"

"_Its YOUR little mission not MINE! I´m doing you a favor so do _me_ one and shut up already!_"

"_You should be gratefull I even considered asking you in the first place! I could´ve asked any girl in town!_"

"_Ha, as if. As if any girl in Beauvillage would go out with you and your giant nose!_"

"_Why you...!_"

Wiseman swiftly switched the channel on the walkie-talkie as the spectators were shocked at the argument between a boy and a girl.

"Wise 4. Wise 4 do you copy? Over."he said hurriedly.

Now it took a while for the other side to answer.

"_Wise... 4... copy... over..._"came a voice, but for some reason it was a bit muffled and there were several smacking noises heared, a girly giggle and even a small moan.

Everyone was once more perplexed until another voice rang out of the walkie-talkie.

"_ARCHIE! STOP SMOOCHING YOUR GIRLFRIEND AND FOCUS ON YOUR WORK!_"yelled Nick´s voice at the top of his lungs – making several in the tent cringe.

"_Sorry, brother..._"sounded Archie´s sheepish yet slightly ashamed voice.

"_Don´t you remember how importaint this is? What if the robbers show up?! Brother Fred said something about sector 3!_"yelled Nick angerly.

"_Some friend you are, Nick! Walking in on them like that. Who cares about some stupid robbers anyway?!_"said Mia´s reproachfull voice.

"_WE DO, WE´RE THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WISE – THE PEOPLE OF BEAUVILLAGE DEPEND ON US!_"roared Nick, but suddenly there was a clapping sound and Nick´s voice was muffled.

"_Shhh, brother... remember – secrecy. We´re to keep a low profile._"said Archie in a whisper.

"_Right. I forgot._"said Nick as though he just remembered.

"_Let´s move towards this sector 3. Maybe we can find out what´s going on_."suggested the calm voice of Emily Sweetlong.

"_Excellent idea, Emmy sweetie! Brother Fred... we´re moving towards Sector 3._"

Wiseman only sighed to himself.

"Copy that, Wise 2 and 4. Over."he said in a deadpanned voice.

Looking back at the spectators, who sported the looks of confusion – except Angie and Rodney, who were holding in their laughter.

"They may not be perfect, but believe me – they get the job done."he said firmly.

"_BROTHER FRED! LOOK INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE SQUARE!_"sounded Archie´s frantic voice over the walkie-talkie.

Moving as one, Wiseman putting on his beard and hat in the process the entire tent litterally raced outside.

Almost every single person on the square was now looking in complete stony silence as a large truck was parking its way into the middle of the square – overlooked by all the sectors.

Slowly, it backed and faced the stands by its back side. Every single person on the square shared a confused look, unsure what was about to happen. Only Angie smirked knowingly.

"_Secret weapon time, huh Dad?_"she thought as she looked at her father, who was staring there alongside of Wiseman and La Jolie.

Angie remembered the morning´s events clearly. Upon La Jolie´s phone call, during which he found that celebrities will be attending, he called in Nick, Tex and Archie and may them reveal that information. But soon after, convinced that Beauvillage will need a secret weapon, he swiftly picked up the phone and dialed up the person, who could without a doubt liven up this year´s event – Michael Miles. Miles, who took up to the task happily even said that he has something special planned. And it looks like they were all about to find out exactly _what_.

...

The people were silently approaching the back of the truck, wondering exactly what was THIS... Suddenly the backdoor started to fall down automaticly. In deadly silence some even backed away, fearing that something may spring from the truck.

As the door finally stopped, they revealed that the truck´s contents were blocked from view by a long black curtain – one that would ussualy be somewhere on a stage or theatre.

Suddenly a happy, overjoyed face of Michael Miles popped from the curtain a microphone in his hand as he positioned it over his mouth.

"_I found out just what I neeeed – gimme a king-size of greeeed._"he sang before dissapearing back into the curtains.

At once, music began to play – on drumms, base and an electric guitair, which were playing a melody from the popular song – Daddy´s Cool. As the people were starting to get the idea, some almost unable to believe that something like this was happening, others expectant on just what has the most (in)famous person in Beauvillage cooked up thistime, Lola and Lily were among the crowd – both looking slightly awed.

Now the curtain was parting revealing that the contents of the truck was – a virtual small shop filled with various objects. Howeven no one really paid any attention to that. What was standing out was Miles and two other men his age – all three dressed in pure white suits, which looked like a blast from the past - disco fad from almost 30 years back, all three even had wigs, that gave them an afro-styled hair look as they danced to the sound of the music with funny machine-like moves done by both hands and feet. Lola´s mouth fell open as Lily dissolved into a fit of giggles, even while there was a powerfull girl-squeal, done by almost the entire girl population of Town Hall Square, just as Miles took the microphone again and began to sing.

"_Today´s a real special day... no ugly taxes to pay._

_I have whatever you need ... trade ´ya for money and greed._"he sang as his two cohorts took the microphones out too and sang along with him.

"_Business...baby cool!_

_Business... very cool!_

_Business... business cool!_

_Business... money cool!_"

Lola litteraly had to sit down, completly overwhelmed. NOW she understood Miles´ comment on giving a special present to Beauvillage.

"You HAVE to be kidding."she moaned eyeing the scene.

However, the people sped towards the truck, clapping, shouting and showing their praise as though this was some sort of a concert as the three men once more took the microphones. Some were even singing the song right along with them.

"_Business...baby cool!_

_Business... very cool!_

_Business... business cool!_

_Business... money cool!_"

As the song came to an end, the Town Hall Square exploded in cheers and happy shouts. Grinning, Miles took down the afro-wig and adressed the crowd one more.

"My dear Beauvillagers, honorable guests from far away Cygnuville – today´s a day which I concider to be the best day in the universe – and as such I have especially prepared something, so that we can enjoy this... Now I thought about renting a stand, but quite frankly – why settle for something small on such a happy day? So we brought a truck and we have EVERYTHING. Everything and anything you desire – various objects from all around the country and even world – Europe, Asia, Africa, Alaska – whichever country. Aaaaand with the help of my two respective associates – **Trashbin**..."he said gesturing to a well built young man, shorter from him slightly, who also took down his afro-wig to reveal a mop of short brown hair as his pleasant looking face took on a grin, his round sunglasses sparkling as he came closer and waved his hand.

"YO!"he said to the applause of the spectators.

"...aaaand **Weedpatch**."said Miles dramaticly gesturing to the other one, a plump chubby man, who had a long wavy blond hair and a hippie-kind of band on his forehead as he stepped closer and took the microphone from Miles.

"_Peace to all the people in the world!_"he exclaimed, doing a peace-sighn with his free hand as the crowd went wild again.

At one of the stands, Phil had to swiftly grab Chichi by the shoulders, for his best friend looked as though he might faint.

"Trashbin and Weedpatch...a...amazing."he muttered over the applause.

"Who are they, Chichi?"asked Phil unfamiliar with the two men.

Chichi fixed him with an awed look.

"Members of an incredible punk-rock band... _Dr Quacko_..."he answered in a distracted voice – his eyes glued on the stage.

Phil rolled his eyes – his best friend´s liking towards punk and ska music was becoming prominent again.

Upon the truck-stage Miles took the microphone back.

"So my dear people, come to our "stand" we so affectionatly call – _**Whatever -**_ and buy buy and buy whatever you like or need. We´re open for _business_..."

As the crowd sprang into applause, the people in front of the Privacy Sector were standing there rooted on the spot.

"I have NEVER seen anything like this before."whispered Johnny Jack eyeing the scene.

"So some of the rumors were true..."nodded Adam Brians.

Jean La Jolie was completly white, as though seeing something that was out of this world. Suddenly he heared Johnatan Haveitall chuckle to himself.

"I told you, Jean... We have our _own_ people who are amazing and exceptional."he said proudly to his dumbfounded collague.

...

**A/N: **Phew, this chapter took a bit. I wanted some real celebrities to show, and I remembered that in the cartoon there was one case when a real world celebrity was mentioned, though his name was changed. So I thought I should take this to the higher level :D These celebrities perhaps even share a few traits with their real world counterparts - but all in all, the changed names and occupation is perhaps the only thing they have in common.

HK 07


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Miles´ stunt really seemed to have done the trick. Immediatly livening up the situation even more and bringing a sort of happy and relaxed climate into Town Hall Square. Music was playing on several sectors, people were happily talking, buying or merely looking around. Even the slightly snobbish citizens of Cygnuville found themselfs loosening up and simply having a good time, enjoying something different from what they were used to. In fact, everyone seemed to have a blast. Including two young teen boys, who were currently standing in front of a Cygnuville stand, which had a large sighn – _Avenir technology_.

"Woooow. Look at that, Chichi."sighed Phil dreamily, eying the brand new laptop – something which was only in shops for a month now.

Chichi fixed his eyes on the said laptop for a while, before Phil let out yet another dreamy sigh.

"I don´t believe it... the Ultrasonic´s new _EX-126 Tablet_?! Amazing, you can link that with anything from computers to cell-phone. And it has easy access to the internet, plus a lot of various functions..."breathed Phil in absolute excitement.

Chichi eyed it with professional interest, his brain already hard at work – thinking, calculating, pondering upon the various uses this object could have and whether its worth the price even while Phil started talking to the stand salesman – a fairly young, stylishly dressed man from Cygnuville.

"I am astonished that a young one your age knows so much about this. It was only released about three weeks ago."said the man, not really hiding his feelings about Phil´s extensive knowledge on the subject.

"I keep an eye out for new equipment. Its a passion of mine."commented Phil brightly, still eyeing the tablet with a dreamy look on his face.

The man smiled and fixed his glasses, happy to know that someone shared his love of electronics.

"How much does it cost?"asked Chichi breaking the pair´s musings.

The man frowned a bit.

"Since its a relatively new add on the market, I´m afraid that the price is too high for you two. Even without the taxes it costs 52,50..."

Phil instantly cringed while Chichi let out a low whistle.

"Wow... that _is_ a bit over the top..."he said quietly as Phil´s face adopted a sad look.

The man nodded somberly.

Just as Chichi racked his brains for a solution he felt a hand on his shoulder and heared a deep sigh.

"Chichi...we talked about this too many times..."

Chichi froze and turned, his face adopting an innocent grin as he faced Mom, who was holding Buba´s hand-knitten shoping bag, which was already half full. Buba, who was standing behind Mom returned the smile, but Mom´s face sported a look of sad disaprooval.

"But Moooom... I´m not planning to buy it..."he started, moving away from the stand while giving Phil one of their hand signals behind his back.

Getting the hint, Phil hurriedly turned back to the conversation with the salesman, as Chichi walked out of the stand.

"Sweet seedling, I´ve told you that I will NOT tolerate such _gadgets_ around the house."said Mom reminding him unnessesarily something he knew full well by now.

"But Moooooom... this thing is not a danger to the enviroment at all..."said Chichi trying once more to reason with her.

Mom however was adamant.

"Maybe not, but it gives out bad karma Chichi. I don´t want the harmony of our home disturbed by it."she said gently, almost imploringly.

"Now Vi... you heared Chichi. He´s not planning to buy it."said Buba, coming to his resque.

Chichi smiled as Mom looked back at Buba.

"Of course I´m not. It´s too expensive for me anyway."he said quickly.

Though in truth, it really _wasn´t_. He still had more than enough money stashed safely in his Gzorbial statuette at home. Over his working summer in Megacity he earned much more than he could spend at his rate. Plus the pocket money he recieved from Pop and of course the cash he scored from various deals he assisted Miles with – repairing objects in the Hidehole, not to mention Miles´ van – Chichi was getting something which could ammount to a standart sallery – something he saved as much as he could for whenever the Hidehole would need an upgrade, or when he´ll be needing something like custum-made clothing, which he still had the promise off from Megacity, or if a special trip came up – like a concert in the Butterfly Legion.

Mom fixed Chichi with a suspitious look.

"And _if_ you had the money for it...? Would you buy it?"

Chichi gulped – his Mom DID indeed see trough him sometimes.

"Of..._of course_ not..."he said swiftly, shaking his head franticly.

Mom quirked an eyebrow as her precious son gave out a sheepish laugh. Buba barely restrained a giggle.

"See, Vi? There´s nothing to be araid of. Chichi is merely looking over the elecronics with Phil, that´s all."said Buba in a gentle voice, though seeing trough him even more, than his mother did.

"Yup. Just looking around, Mom. That´s all..."nodded Chichi.

Mom fixed him a look once more, then looked at the electronics stand and sighed.

"Sometimes I really wish you didn´t take so much after your Grandpa Noah."she said, more to herself than him.

Buba giggled now, she could well imagine Noah Tofu being positively on cloud nine at that stand – jumping up and down like a precious 5 year old, while doing his best to evade detection by his wife, who would promptly pummel him upon discovery. She could also imagine Iris Tofu positively fumming and dragging her husband away from the stand by the ear, ignoring his whines and pleas.

"Come on, Vi. We still have things to buy and then we can go have a talk with Beth at her stand. Chichi, you go along and enjoy yourself. And please be carefull with _whatever_ you buy, ok?"said Buba looking gently at her beloved grandson, who returned a smile and a nod.

Waving him, Buba turned and started to walk away. Mom returned him one more look of pleading, but turned as well and quickly chaught up with Buba.

"Phew. That was close."said Chichi to himself as soon as they were out of reach.

He loved his mother ever so dearly, but... she just DIDN´T understand his love for technology – partialy because of her lifestyle and of course because of his Pop´s and Grandpa´s numerous gadgets, which did not always work safely.

Returning to the stand, he found that Phil was going over his savings which he took for the occasion. Spoting him, he quirked a small smile.

"Talked yourself out of it?"he asked with a grin.

Chichi returned the grin.

"With some help from Buba. But I think that she´s well aware, that we´re not just checking things out. Putting that behind us, what are you doing?"he asked eyeing the money in Phil´s hand.

Phil sighed.

"I´ve been saving this for the new _Joystation 3_. Even with as much as I have, I´m still missing almost 10 dollars."he said sadly, his sadness reflected by the salesman.

Chichi eyed the various hardware in the stand, spotting several of the things he needed. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. Pulling out the list he showed it to the salesman.

"We need a few of the things you have."he started simply as the manager looked at the list.

"_Mon Dieu, c'est beaucoup_."he said more to himself than anyone.

Chichi grinned and pulled out the money he had – an ammount that greatly overcome that of Phil´s. Both Phil´s and the salesman´s jaws fell open.

"How much money do you HAVE?"asked Phil in awe.

Chichi now sported his infamous tenthousand-watt grin. Only he and maybe Miles actually knew how much cash did he earn.

"More than you´d think."answered Chichi smugly, as Phil sighed.

Chichi turned his gaze on the similary awed salesman.

"If I take so many things full price, would it be possible to give my friend here a discount on that Tablet?"he asked politedly pointing to his best friend with his thumb.

Phil was completly shocked.

"C...Chichi...you..."he stuttered as the salesman fixed his glasses once more and looked over the list.

"With as much as you have here, _jeune homme_... I´d say... you´ve got a deal."he said pointing to the list with his index finger before offering Chichi a hand-shake.

Phil´s expression instantly turned to one of utter joy as Chichi smilingly shook his hand with the man.

As the man started to gather the things on the list, Chichi turned to Phil with a happy smile.

"_Business_."he said with a mischievous wink as Phil let out an amusing chuckle knowing full well just WHO taught him this.

...

The Sector number 2 was extremly lively. It was stocked full of stands full of clothing or fashion both from Beauvillage and Cygnuville – which explained why the female population dominated in overwhelming numbers. Girls, young ladies and women of all age were going over the numerous stands, chatting excitedly or curiously looking over various items which would aid them in their quest to become exceptionally beautyfull.

One such stand – _Petite Fleur_ stand from Cygnuville was packed full, which was saying something considering its giant size. The reason for it was simple – _Petite Fleur _was a well known firm in the country which specialized in stylish clothing, which was very hard to come by on this side of the country. A Cygnuvillan firm, it exported very little outside its town and certainly not on this side of the country, where its chief rival MegaBeauty from Megacity has practicly a stranglehold on the local market. Indeed and not just in beauty, Megacity and Cygnuville are at fierce competition – something which probably explains _why_ do the two big towns hate eachother so much. Beauvillagers however didn´t have any participation in this and they generally accepted goods regardless of town origin. Every woman in Beauvillage (save for a few, such as Mom, Buba and Bee) pretty much adored the clothing desighns from Cygnuville – they were almost completly opposite from their Megacity counterparts. Instead of being focused on efficiency as well as a stylish look, Cygnuvillan clothes were wonderously styled, elegant and dashing – each desighn a pure work of art, though in no way less expensive than the Megacity ones.

"Ah, this will suit you incredibly, _mademoiselle_..."said one of the salesman with delight as Lola tried a brilliantly styled dress emerging from behind a trying booth.

"What d´you think, Lily?"she asked uncertainly.

Lily smiled gently at her best friend. The silky dress was a brilliant dark-blue with yellow floral patterns. It did indeed suit her nicely.

"Perfect."nodded Lily giving Lola a thumbs-up.

"I´ll take it."said Lola brightly to the salesman who whooped in joy.

"Excellent. You will not be dissapointed, _mademoiselle_."he said happily before turning towards the cash register just as Lola once more went to the trying booth.

"D´you think Billy will like it?"asked Lola as she peeled off the dress and started putting on her ussual clothes.

From behind the curtain she heared Lily giggle.

"Of course he will, Lola. But I have a sneaky feeling that he would like you in whatever you wear."she commented fairly though her voice betrayed a small laugh.

Lola giggled to herself, knowing Lily was completly right. Billy found her beautyfull in whatever she wore – he even said as much, before mischievously adding that he would find her even more pretty _without _any clothes at all, earning himself a playfull smack on the head. Lola giggled while blushing slightly as she recollected that memory. Once they paid, both girls exited the stand with their purchases happily, bags in both of their hands.

"That sure took a while. What´s up for business next?"asked Lily.

Lola couldn´t help but giggle.

"That question sounded too much like Miles."

Realizing this, Lily blushed shightly as Lola took a look around.

"There! We can check out that stand."she said pointing to a stand, which held necklaces and various cheap jewlery.

As they approached they took their time glancing from piece to piece.

"I´m not sure I need one. Besides none of these can compare to my gemstone necklace."said Lily quietly referring to the necklace of Balthazar Bunglewood, which she always wore under her shirt.

Lola nodded.

"You´re right. Compared to that these pieces don´t stand a chance."she said also quietly as not to offend the saleswoman who was there.

Moving from the stand, they strolled down the crowded alley.

"Shame, I really wanted something like that too."said Lola sadly.

"Ask Chichi to make you one. He DID make it for April afterall."suggested Lily, smiling a bit.

Lola smiled gently.

"Never knew he also has a talent for THAT too."she said remembering April´s lovely necklace, which as April excitedly explained to her was made by her beloved Chichi honey-bun.

"Perhaps its because WHO he was making it for."suggested Lily slyly.

The two girls shared a giggle.

"We can only hope."remarked Lola happily, hoping that her block-head of a brother would finally get together with the girl.

"Well if it isn´t our two perfect girls."said a sneering voice right behind them.

Lola and Lily turned only to find Cherie standing there along with Nina and Zoe – all three sporting bags as well, though a LOT fuller than theirs. Cherie approached them looking extremly smug.

"Just what in the world are you two doing here, hm...?"she asked.

"About as much as the three of you are doing."remarked Lola, glaring her.

Cherie laughed.

"I very much doubt THAT. I doubt that YOU could afford it."

Lola sniffed.

"Oh really? As you can see, we CAN!"she said gesturing to the bags.

Cherie´s eyes narrowed.

"I don´t see the point. Especially since _you two_ already have all the attention you need. The rest of us however have to work for it."said Cherie betraying a note of anger.

Lily laughed.

"If dressing up and applying make-up is your idea of getting attention, I´ll happily look at the results."sniffed Lily in humor.

Cherie rounded at her.

"Easy for you to say, Ms Mystery! You´ve got all the boys in school going over you and your _Great Mystery_!"

"That´s the point! Those boys look up to her because of her writing talent not her looks!"said Lola defending her best friend in a heartbeat.

"And what´s it to _you_, Tofu?! _You´ve_ already got what you want!"remarked Cherie remembering who Billy chose as his girlfriend.

"Yes I have."replied Lola fiercely, angrily remembering just WHAT Cherie did before they got together.

"Jealous, Cherie?!"asked Lily raising an eyebrow.

Cherie laughed.

"I´m afraid not, Robins! I have no need to go over old grounds! I have found someone _different_."

"Just who do you have in mind?"asked Lola raising an eyebrow also.

Cherie sighed theatricly.

"The one and only man in Beauvillage, who can really appretiate a woman of my caliber – the incredible Michael Miles."

Lola and Lily looked at eachother, then suddenly exploded in laughter.

"What´s so funny?!"exclaimed Cherie outraged as Nina and Zoe fixed them with an angry look.

"You and Miles... yeah, right... and I´m a moutain goat."chortled Lola.

"Oh, its soooo easy for you to laugh, Lola when you´re sharing a _house_ with him!"remarked Zoe angerly – indeed this was something most girls in Beauvillage were VERY unhappy with.

"Do I look, like I´m trying to date him, Zoe?!"exclaimed Lola, angered at what was implied.

"You got Billy and now you´ve taken Miles away too?!"exclaimed Nina with equal anger.

"He _chose_ to live with the Tofus! Lola didn´t do a thing! The Tofus took him in after he arrived in Beauvillage! In fact, it was _Chichi_ who brought him in – as his friend!"argued Lily in equal anger.

"I can´t understand just _why_ did a cool person like Miles befriend a stupid brat like _him_!"sniffed Cherie derisively.

"DON´T INSULT MY BROTHER!"bellowed Lola stomping the groung in anger – it always angered her deeply when _anyone_ insulted her baby brother and that went double when it was Cherie.

"Chichi did nothing to you, Cherie! What gives you the right to insult him?!"remarked Lily in equal anger.

Cherie sniffed once more.

"If those _projects_ of his aren´t a reason enough, Robins... but I suppose I _should_ thank him for bringing my future husband into Beauvillage."

Lily´s eyes narrowed in pure rage.

"Miles barely knows you exist! What makes you so sure, that he will fall for you?!"

Cherie smiled slyly and gestured to the bags in her hands.

"Why do you think we´re here, Robins? I´ll use the experts of Cygnuville to help me show my true beauty and since the handsome Miles is here, I can go on with my plan to show him that I´m the best girl he could ever find."

Lily growled feeling unexplicably angry.

"Did you even bother to think, that maybe Miles isn´t looking for a girl of your type or class?"

Cherie however laughed openly.

"I don´t need love advise from _you_, Robins. Afterall, we all know how _your_ relationships end up."she said before exploding in laughter with Nina and Zoe following suit.

Both Lola and Lily shook in rage, but were unable to come up with a counter-argument.

"Come on, girls. We still have to visit _Vous Apporte La Nouvelle_, so I can be properly prepared to catch the heart of my beloved Michael Miles."said Cherie moving past them.

"See you later, _exceptional _commoners..."she said adding insult to injury as the three girls headed towards the next stand.

Lola and Lily stood there for a while, still shaking with rage.

"Can you BELIEVE that bitch?!"breathed Lola in pure anger.

"And SHE thinks she has a chance with Miles?!"growled Lily.

"Believe me, Lily... I´ll do anything within my power to see that that DOESN´T happen. I wouldn´t have my worst _enemy_ date Cherie, let alone a friend."

Lily only nodded as she glared the forms of Cherie, Nina and Zoe as they were entering _Vous Apporte La Nouvelle_ stand – a famous Cygnuvillian beauty parlor.

"Thistime she´s gone too far."she growled.

Lola swiftly dropped the bags on the ground and embraced her.

"That was too cruel of her – what she said to you."said Lola softly.

Lily only dropped her sights.

"But she´s right."she mumbled sadly.

"NO she´s NOT, Lily!"exclaimed Lola, swiftly bringing her back to reality.

"Listen, none of those brocken down relationships were your fault. The guys you dated, let´s be frank about it – were jerks, who only looked at themselfs but never at you **or** your feelings. They didn´t have a single problem about breaking your heart. Like Christian, remember?! What a jerk that guy was! One day, Lily... one day soon you´ll find a guy, who will love you with his heart and soul – like Billy loves me. It just takes time. And as for arrogant bitches like Cherie, what can THEY understand?!"

Lily´s eyes watered a bit. She returned the embrace, happy that she has a true friend.

"Thanks Lola. I really needed to hear that."she said gratefully.

Lola smiled happily.

"Anyplace, anywhere, anytime."

Suddenly they heared a sound of someone falling to the ground.

"Ouch!_ Qui a placé ceux droite dans le chemin?!_"exclaimed the person.

The two girls turned and found that a boy had tripped over the bags, Lola dropped on the ground.

"_Pardonnez-moi... c'est de notre faute. Vous allez bien?_"asked Lily, by habit switching to french whenever she heared someone speak it.

The black-haired boy smiled happily as he picked himself up from the ground, dusting his pants and turtle-neck sweater.

"_Bien Entendu. Je suppose que je devrais regarder où je vais_."he replied sheepishly as he picked up the bags.

Lola came closer as well, but she was kinda lost since unlike her best friend she didn´t speak french – or any other foreign language for that matter.

Noticing her, Lily understood.

"He´s ok. Says that no harm done."she explained.

Lola nodded dumbly, feeling a bit out of place.

"I also said that I should watch where I´m going. I apologize as well, I was admiring the stands."said the boy smiling at them.

"And how do you like Beauvillage so far?"asked Lola politely, knowing full well that this boy was from Cygnuville.

"I like it. I was very curious, so I chose to come along with my Papa."he explained and looked around once more.

"I´m a stranger to Beauvillage, though... would you two lovely ladies consider to show me around?"

...

"Well... these will do nicely."said Billy happily as he picked up new adds for his bike.

Coming out of the bike equipment stand he looked over his shoulder and frowned. As expected, he saw his best friend walk after him, positively lifeless. Steve´s shoulders were slumped, his expression one of ultimate sadness – one that Billy was fighting to undo since morning.

Sighing to himself he looked around desperately, searching for something that would snap him out of it at least momentarily.

"Look, Steve... there´s a stand with Cygnuvillian Sports equipment – let´s go check it out."he said cheerfully, hoping that Steve´s passion for sports would win out.

Steve´s sad sigh told Billy at once, that it didn´t.

"If you´d like..."answered Steve in a voice that sounded as though from far away.

Billy pressed his lips but didn´t say a thing as the two boys made their way towards the stand. After five minutes of silently going over sports equipment they stepped out of the stand and Billy sighed, finally having enough.

"Look, Steve..."he began but was cut off short by Steve´s suddenly lively reaction.

"Billy, tell me... about you and Lola... how did you know, that she is _the one_?"

The almost child-like question chaught Billy off guard. He racked his brains for a sufficient answer – not really knowing how to put his feelings for the said girl into words.

"Well... if... if I have to be honest, I think it was always there, eversince they moved next to us, I guess..."he answered finally.

With a smile he recollected the memory as he started to tell Steve a very personal memory indeed – one he wouldn´t share with anyone besides his girlfriend or best friend – a memory of the time that the Tofu family first arrived in Beauvillage.

_-Flashback-_

"_What´s THAT?"asked a 12 year old Billy Hubbub looking over the fence with his parents as the wierdest van he had EVER seen came to a stop infront of the empty parcel next to their house – where a wierd, giant hand-made house was already standing._

"_Humph. Looks like our wierd neighbour is here."grumbled Titus, looking at the van with obvious dissaprooval – he had spoken with the new neighbour, when he was building the said house._

"_We should go and greet them."said Beth Hubbub in obvious joy at the newcomers._

_Her husband rounded at her, looking incredulous._

"_You´re NOT serious, Beth!"_

_Beth however waved off the remark, completly animated over the prospect of new neighbours._

"_Oh, don´t be silly, Titus. It´s only polite."_

_Titus humphed again, but shrugged as Beth dissapeared in their house. _

_Billy watched in complete curiosity as he saw the van´s doors open and to his complete surprise a goat, a sheep and a rooster jumped out and set their course directly towards the large garden. From the front seats stepped the brown-haired man he saw building the house with a friend of his during the last year. From the passanger seat stepped out a tall, pleasant looking lady with long sunny hair and fixed her glasses as she viewed the house with obvious happiness. With a loud exclamation she embraced the man and he, laughing along with her, spun her in circles – the pair laughing joyfully. Then he saw an elderly silver-haired woman crawl out after them, smiling at them before following the animals into the garden. Next up came out a small blonde-haired boy, looking around in bright curiosity as though taking in his surroundings. Suddenly the boy turned his head towards the van once more and fixed someone a radiant smile. Billy came closer to see who would walk out of the van now. Judging by the happy joyfull smile the little boy was giving out, he guessed that the next person appearing would be his sibling – possibly his elder brother. He supposed it was a good thing – he could always use another guy-friend to do stuff with. However his eyes opened wide and jaw fell open as the next person exited the van. A plainly dressed girl with incredibly beautyfull shiny brown hair stepped out and took a look around. In contrast with her little brother, she viewed her surroundings kinda tensly, almost as if she was afraid of what awaited her in her new home. Just as Billy heared his mother call out to them, exiting the house with her famous Bethburgers, the girl turned her head and her eyes fell upon him. Instantly he felt himself blushing slightly. The girl´s jaw fell open and her cheeks were staring to turn red. For a while the time seemed to come to a standstill as their eyes locked – bright blue facing brilliant brown. Observing eachother, the two barely took notice of a small argument that went on as the newcomers declined the hamburgers. Slowly, almost in a daze Billy raised his hand and waved at the girl in a gesture of greeting, his lips curling into a kind smile. The girl´s blush turned even more beet-red and she returned the gesture with a wave and an incredibly shy smile of her own – one that made a wierd, fuzzy feeling grip his heart..._

_- End of Flashback -_

"So it was love at first sight, then..."nodded Steve as Billy finished telling the story.

Billy smiled, remembering the 12 year old form of his beloved Lola, her shy smile and adorable blush.

"Yes. I think, it definitely was."he answered with a happy sigh.

"I really envy you, Billy. You´ve found such an incredible girl and she really _does_ love you."noted Steve sadly, though with a hint of a smile – truly happy for his best friend.

"That didn´t happen out of the blue, Steve. We litterally had to **fight** for it. I can´t even count the number of times our parents – well, mostly mine, tried to keep us apart. If not for those stupid feuds, we could´ve been together from the start."said Billy, kinda regretting that he didn´t get together with Lola earlier on.

"But then you wouldn´t have such a strong relationship."noted Steve objectively.

Billy fixed him with a questioning look.

"Its true. You two have crossed over many obstacles just to be together. That made your relationship grow beyond your years."said Steve brightly as though stating the obvious.

Suddenly however he sighed and his face once more took on a look of despair.

"I only wish I had something like that with Cherie."

Billy cringed inwardly. He knew of Steve´s feelings for the girl they both befriended back in kindergarden. Who in their class didn´t, afterall? Well... Cherie didn´t apparently. Or merely didn´t bother to respond to them if she did – something which immensly hurt Steve.

"Look, Steve... you..."

"I wish she would see me as more than her friend."said Steve, once more cutting him off.

"That´s my _point_, Steve. You HAVE to tell her. You´re just torturing yourself."said Billy imploringly.

Steve however shook his head.

"I CAN´T Billy. I... I´m just too afraid to risk our friendship."

Billy sighed to himself.

"So was **I** before I got together with Lola. I was beating around the bush too many times, trying to find some way to tell her without risking it all and look how **that **turned out – my family and hers were nearly in a state of open warfare, all because I took stupid advise instead of relying on myself and just plucking up the courage. If I had, none of that would ever happen. Luckily thanks to Lily and Chichi everything turned out for the best, but sometimes I still imagine how it would´ve been if they _didn´t_ help us. Anyway Steve, you have to understand one thing – admitting your feelings is ALWAYS a risk. But ask yourself one thing... what if you never tried? Cherie is not going to wait for you. She´ll move on to someone else – already she has a crush on Miles, though I saw only a handfull of girls who don´t. You **have** to tell her. Sure you´ll risk something, but just imagine what you will gain if you do."

Dispite taking all of this in, Steve still wore a look of skepticism on his face.

"I´m not sure about this, Billy... I mean, I´m not as brave or good-looking as you are."

"That doesn´t matter in love."said Billy crossly.

"What matters is what you feel for the girl. And what _she_ feels for you – which you won´t know, unless you ask."

Billy knew he was being very firm with him, but he was his best friend for crying out loud. It would be foolish to give him false hope, or simply tell him that he´s right. Billy resolved to explain the situation to him exactly as it was – in the hope of actually resolving this problem. Though truth be told, he wasn´t really sure that Cherie felt anything other than friendship for him. Sure, they are good friends since kindergarden and Steve often hangs out with her and her best friend, helping them out as best he can... but judging from Cherie´s numerous crushes, he doubted she would see something of that in Steve. Still, in spite of all this, he incouraged his best friend to tell her – no matter the outcome. If he suceedes, he´ll be happy and if not, he will accept the truth and move on – perhaps even to some girl, who will return his feelings.

"I ´m really not sure, Billy..."

Billy fought the urge to smack his forehead. And Lola thought, that getting Chichi to notice April was difficult. This was proving to be impossible and even Billy´s golden patience was slowly but surely begining to run out. Suddenly however he got an idea.

"Listen, why don´t you ask for advice from a girl´s point of view? Ask Lola or Lily, they know how a girl works."

Steve´s face adopted hopefull look.

"You´re sure?"

Billy nodded.

"The more advise, the better. I´m to meet Lola and Lily at my Mom´s Burger Palace stand. You can come along and ask them. I´m sure they won´t mind."

Steve now sported a happy smile.

"You´re right. Perfect idea."

Billy returned the smile, happy that he had gotten trough to him.

"But first... there are a few more stands we haven´t seen yet."said Steve pointing to the stands.

Billy chuckled to himself.

"_That´s_ the Steve Rowan I know."

...

The third sector was filled with excitement. Numerous stands from Beauvillage and Cygnuville were filled almost fully. Since the sector was devoted to fun and relaxation, it was certainly drawing quite a crowd with its numerous cafés, fun stands filled with attractions of all kind and stands filled with sweets and fast food – something which was mainly drawing the teenagers.

"This is so coool!"exclaimed April as she and Chloe returned from one of the Cygnuvillian attraction, sporting their won prizes – multicolored plush animals.

"You´ve said it, April. I can´t remember when I had so much fun."nodded Chloe happily as they returned towards Archie and Emily – the pair separating from Nick and Mia a while ago before encountering them.

"Wow... you two won so much?!"exclaimed Archie in wonder.

"Well, these two can really get their game on."explained Emily, eying the two girls happily.

Archie bowed his head.

"Damn. And I wanted to win one for you – and I wasn´t able to get a single one."

Emily smiled gently and promtly lifted his bowed head and placed a long loving kiss on her boyfriend´s lips.

"What matters to _me_ is, that you tried."she said before kissing him again.

Watching the scene, Chloe grinned happily while April sighed longingly, hoping that she would be kissing Chichi for whether winning her a plush animal, or not.

A few seconds later the foursome took off, walking along the sector, looking for more fun to have. Though Archie´s eyes were darting from side to side – he apparently haven´t forgotten to keep a lookout for the thiefs as the three girls were chatting happily.

"I´ve just finished reading the Great Mystery. That was one nice ending."sighed Emily gripping Archie´s hand.

"We know... we finished the book yesterday."said April brightly.

Chloe giggled.

"More like Chichi finished it for us."

Emily quirked an eyebrow in question.

"We stopped by the Tofu´s yesterday and ended up with Chichi in the yard. He read the rest to us."breathed April dreamily.

"Which he probably wouldn´t if _you_ haven´t persuaded him."said Chloe slyly, promting a beet-red blush on April´s cheeks.

Indeed, April asked him numerous times yesterday after he admitted to having read the book as soon as he got it from Lily. She even went as far to use her infamous puppy-eyed look – a surefire way she developed to break Chichi´s resolve.

"It was really romantic from Lily to have Detective Razor finally fall asleep after so long in the end – only because he was in Madame Resaque´s arms – you were right, she completly cured him of his insomnia."breathed April.

"Well... love can work wonders."said Emily happily, her eyes looking at Archie who was busy looking from stand to stand, determined to spot a thief.

Suddenly Archie gasped and pulled out his walkie-talkie, the three girls immensed in their conversation hadn´t noticed.

"This is Wise 4, saw a suspect walking trough Sector 3."

"_Sector 3? On it Wise 4._"sounded a voice of one of the policemen.

"_Following suspect in order to verify._"said another policeman, already on the suspect´s heels.

"_Spotted another one at the candy stand._"came the voice of another.

"_Verifying._"

"Come on what´s the hold up?!"asked an impatient Mia on the other side of the sector, looking at Nick who was holding the walkie-talkie while looking from side to side, hoping to catch a glimpse of the suspects.

"Will you shut the hell up?! I can´t hear a thing!"Nick growled back, pressing the device more firmly to his large ear.

"Oh no you don´t! There´s already a large line coming to the _Tons-of-fun_ stand."she said, yanking his jacket.

"What´s it to me?!"growled Nick.

Mia huffed.

"You thought, you could just drag me here without something in return? You will win me one of those prizes."she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Nick´s head snapped towards her – his expression between shock and complete incredulity.

"WHAT?!"

Mia glared him folding her arms.

"You heared me!"

Nick finally let go of the walkie-talkie facing her.

"In case you haven´t noticed... we have a SITUATION on our hands!"

Mia´s look darkened even more.

"AS IF I CARE! THERE WILL BE TIME ENOUGH TO PLAY YOUR LITTLE GAMES AFTER YOU WIN ME THE PRIZE I WANT!"

"WORRY ABOUT THAT AFTER WE FINISH OUR MISSION!"yelled Nick at the top of his voice.

Mia huffed and swiftly grabbed his hand.

"You´re _not_ getting off the hook, Nicolas Meanfull! You are going to win me my prize and **THAT´S** FINAL!"she finished in a frustrated scream as she yanked his hand hard.

Not expecting it, Nick almost fell over as she dragged him clear to the stand. Regaining his ground in less then a second, he stopped her trying futilly to free his hand from her grasp.

"Awwww... Mia, this is sooo cute!"called a voice from behind them and the pair turned the tuggle-war stopped in mid-action.

Nick sported a look of bewilderment, while Mia froze in visible shock. Standing behind them, separating herself from the group of girls who were awwing as well, her elder sister Candy was walking up to them with a look of fluffy happiness.

"You´ve never told me anything."she said brightly looking at the pair of them.

Mia huffed and glared her sister.

"I don´t know why should I tell you a_ thing_."she snorted.

Candy however took no offence, the radiant smile remaining on her face as she patted Mia´s shoulder gently.

"Now now, little sister... I understand. But why keep something like this a secret? You should be proud of it."

Mia brushed her shoulder from her sister´s palm, still keeping a firm hold on Nick´s hand.

"Who´s keeping anything a secret? And what should I be proud of?"she asked angerly – Candy was once more getting on her nerves.

Candy smiled gently and turned her sights on Nick offering him a kind smile.

"I´m sooo happy someone finally saw trough her tough demanour."

Nick was now looking as perplexed as Mia, even as Candy´s friends approached also interested in the pair for reasons neighter of them could grasp. Candy made a loud happy sigh and wiped the small tears from her eyes.

"My baby sister got a boyfriend before me."

The statement lingered only for a moment.

"**WHAAAAAAAT?!**"roared both Nick and Mia, instantly letting go of their hands jumping from eachother in the process and going deep-red in their faces.

"Now, now... its very cute. You two look made for eachother."said Candy once more placing her pams on both Nick´s and Mia´s shoulder – both of whom were turning redder by the second.

"If you think I´m dating _**him**_, YOU´RE OUT OF YOUR MIND!"bellowed Mia, positively terrified at what her sister implied.

"I would have to be INSANE to date _**this**_ stuck-up blondie."exclaimed Nick pointing his thumb at Mia.

Mia instantly snapped her head at Nick.

"STUCK-UP?! Listen Mr Personality, you´re not exactly humble yourself."

Candy and her friends looked on as Nick and Mia positively rounded on eachother.

"Oh yeah? _You´ve_ been doing nothing but complaining and dragging me from stand to stand since we arrived."growled Nick.

"What am I supposed to do around here, _stupid_?!"retorted Mia, glaring him.

"Help the brotherhood, THAT´S WHAT!"bellowed Nick.

"Oh, so I can´t have any fun because of your crackpot plan?! I have better things to do!"

"And YOU wonder why you don´t have a boyfriend?!"

Mia sniffed at the question.

"What would YOU know about it, _giga-nose_?! I don´t see YOU with a girlfriend!"

Nick narrowed his eyes as he drew nearer to her face.

"Do I look like I´m _looking_ for one right now?!"

Mia laughed derisively as she unknowingly drew nearer too.

"You don´t even _have_ to. Even Detective Wiseman wouldn´t be able to find a girl who would date YOU."

"Oh yeah?! And any search for a guy who would date YOU would be useless. In fact, I can´t even IMAGINE what stupid idiot would ever _consider _dating **you**!"

Candy giggled to herself while her friends looked shocked as Nick and Mia pressed their foreheads to eachother, baring their teeth at one another and growling – their argument gaining the fearfull attention of anyone who was in the vicinity.

"They look soooo cute together."she breathed as her little sister and "boyfriend" completly ignored everything around them and continuing the bickering, trading one argument after another.

"Oooooh! You piss me off **so** _much_, Nicolas!"exclaimed Mia for the whole street to hear.

...

"Hm... that was wierd."remarked Rodney Philips quietly as he watched another dubious chatacter pass them and another – one he knew – called Daniel Rogers dressed in working overalls, followed after him.

"I see nothing out of the ordinary, Rodney."said Angela Haveitall, who was right next to him.

Instantly after Miles´ innitiation feat, her father and the guests from Cygnuville decided to have a walk to view the Stands and the people. Angie´s hand was dangling close to Rodney´s but she repressed the urge to grab it once more – no matter how much she longed to. She quickly reoriented her attention to the guests, who were openly showing their appretiation at the event.

"I must say, the event is most _illuminous_, Mayor Haveitall."said Christopher Gee, viewing the various stands and the people with appretiation.

"Agreed."nodded Adam Brians happily, brightly waving to one of the women in the crowd, who recodnized him – the woman blushed and returned him the gesture.

"You have extremely good people here."said Milton Weasel, who was by habit taking in the people and their behaveour.

Johnatan Haveitall smiled and fought the blush, which was threatening to appear on his face in the wake of all the polite flattery.

"These people are the true treasure of Beauvilage afterall."he said sheepishly, his heart warming at the thought that these celebrities finding these ordinary people _extraordinary_.

Jean La Jolie made an impatient sound, clearly not happy with how his celebrities found Beauvillage.

"I see that your stands offer the exact opposite of ours, Johnatan. It would be better to set an equal tone instead of making this a show of differences."he remarked eying the differences of the various stands.

Angie glared him a bit – she HATED when someone critisized her father or Beauvillage at large.

"That´s only good. The market is _supposed_ to be extensive, offering whatever the people need and what they desire. Afterall... different products and salesmen are the source of competition, which of course is the backbone of the economy."said Rodney evenly.

La Jolie rounded on him, an argument already on his lips.

"Well said, Rodney. I very much like your opinions."said Milton Weasel smilingly, giving him a happy smile.

This comment made La Jolie swallow the remark, while Rodney blushed beet-red at his role-model´s praise. Angie fixed Rodney an appretiative, thankfull look for standing up for her father and Beauvillage in his own - intelligent way, something one wouldn´t know unless he knew Rodney Philips personally. She saw, that her father also understood that as he flashed Rodney a smile not unlike her own.

"That´s our Rodney – a wise one indeed. I take solace in the fact, that Beauvillage has people like him."said Johnatan, voicing his support for Beauvillage´s celebrated teacher.

"If your people are like Rodney here, mayor Haveitall... my opinion of Beauvillage could not get any higher."said Christopher Gee happily – furthering La Jolie´s annoyance.

"I have to say Mayor Haveitall, that I´m also greatly enjoying Beauvillage. In fact in contrast to most towns I know, I find it incredibly relaxing."noted Johnny Jack, who indeed looked extremly relaxed and carefree.

This seemed to surprise the party from Beauvillage, while the Cygnuvillian party nodded in understanding.

"Free from fan-girls, Johnny... am I correct?"asked Gee, smiling at his younger collague in understanding.

Johnny grinned at him.

"You´ve said it, Mr C... these people are very polite... I had yet to see a fan-girl attack here. In fact its a drastic change somewhat. Something I haven´t experienced since I was a teenager – very refreshing indeed..."

Smiling at the curious looks of the Beauvillage party, Johnny Jack grinned.

"You see... being the country´s most wanted actor and bachelour many girls tend to go after me, trying to gain my affections. Here I am surprised at the girls´ politeness. Some merely acknowledged me – waving but not doing anything less, but I had yet to see a Beauvillage girl who would approach me as they do in other towns."he explained with a relaxed smile.

"HEY! WAIT!"called a female voice from behind them.

Johnny Jack froze.

"Uh-oh... here we go again..."he said more to himself than anyone.

A young woman in her mid-twenties was racing towards them, a bright expression that Johnny knew quite well by now was present on her face, her long brown hair waving after her. Johnny squinted his eyes, already knowing what was about to happen. However, nothing came. Opening one of his eyes fearfully, he found that the woman did not stop by him, but by Rodney and Angela and engaged a conversation with them – well, with the former more likely than the latter.

"I wanted to thank you for my little sister, Rodney. You´re the best teacher in the world."she said excitedly.

Rodney Philips laughed sheepishly.

"Its no problem at all... afterall, Mary is one of my best pupils."

The woman however ignored that comment and moved closer to him.

"I feel really envious of her, you know. To have a sexy teacher like you... it makes me wish that I were younger... tell me, Rodney... is there a chance of you giving... _private lessons_? I could really use some... _education_..."she said in a deep, flirty voice that oozed with desire.

Rodney´s face took on a deep-red blush and for a second he looked too shocked to respond.

"Rodney has too much responsibilities to get along with. I´m afraid that right now, he will have no free time at all."said Angela crossily, stepping between them – a death-glare prominent on her face.

The woman returned Angela the death-glare, but spoke in an overly honey-sweet voice.

"Oh, Angie... I´m sure that Professor Philips will find some time for his former-student, am I right, _Professor_?"

Rodney sighed. This girl was from the very first class he ever taught when he began teaching on Beauvillage High, following his graduation in the university and becoming a teacher. In fact, Angie was also from the same class. And the girls of that class, as well as some from the classes that came after them, had developed their crushes on him over the course of their attendance in High School. Crushes, that apparently didn´t vane, even after all these years.

"Look, Sarrah... I..."he began before he felt Angie grab his arm with both of her hands and pressing herself towards him.

"Sorry, Sarrah. But right now, as you can see we are attending to our Cygnuvillian guests."she said as she pulled him away, just as the party began to move.

"Thanks Angie."said Rodney in appretiation when they were out of ear-shot of the girl.

"Anytime, Rodney... anytime..."growled Angie, doing the best to keep her anger at bay even as they walked on.

It always angered her whenever ANY of these girls and young women tried to get close to him. Any who thought they have a shot with him. Any who stupidly thought that they understand him. Angie was extremly protective of him since early childhood. Eversince she was a little girl, she knew Rodney Philips. Trough the friendship of her and his fathers, the two shared a bond. In the early years Rodney along with Mrs Longline used to babysit her – substituting for the absence of her mother and she came to view Rodney as her elder sibling. Though a decade older than her, Rodney used to be both her playmate and guardian – always spending time with her, showing her some things and teaching her many others – already then he had a natural gift for teaching, something he apparently enjoyed very much. Even Balthazar Bunglewood, who noticed this early on said as much, praising Rodney for his talent to teach.

A few years later, this relationship developed into something... more. They came to know eachother inside and out. But when she was 12, Angie began to feel more and more for him. Dispite the age difference, she developed a crush on him. Back then, she even _told_ him as much. She remembered as though it were yesterday, the time she first asked him to be her boyfriend.

_-Flashback-_

"_Angie..."sighed a 22 year old Rodney as they were sitting in the garden of Mrs Longline, who was back in her house._

"_I´m serious, Rodney... I... I love you."said a young, 12 year old Angela nearly in tears._

_She closed her eyes, determined not to cry. Suddenly she felt Rodney hug her tightly._

"_I love you too, Angie... but not THAT way. I´m too... old for you. And there´s one more thing... You see, I already have someone I love. Don´t worry though... I will always be around for you, Angie... but only as a friend."_

_-End of Flashback-_

Angie got over that quite easily with help of her classmates and of course Rodney himself, who dispite being the cause of it, had taken upon himself to undo the damage as much as possible, while still dating a girl in Megacity collage... one, he didn´t tell anyone about – aside from his parents and Mrs Longline with whom he spent countless of hours with, just chatting. True to his word, Rodney made sure to spend time with Angie as often as he was back home from collage. Her friends and classmates, whom she had often hung around with also came to appretiate her oldest friend. Another few years passed and as Angie and her friends entered their first year of Beauvillage High they were in for a surprise. Rodney Philips became their homeroom teacher – fresh out of his collage. To their incredible astonishment, Rodney turned out to be an amazing teacher – focused, fair and friendly – gaining their respect over his very first week. Well... not just respect... With his young, still boyish and (many girls in Beauvillage remarked about him even now) _sexy_ appearance, Rodney found himself the target of many female affections including Angie´s. With his healthy physique, spiky short black hair and even the reading glasses he wore in class, what girl wouldn´t be head over heels for him? Though no longer dating the girl from Megacity, Rodney resolved to remain alone for reasons only he knew. Even when he was finding himself to be more and more... _popular _among the Beauvillage female population. Angie´s crush on him was renewed and once again, now as a 17 year old girl told him of her feelings.

However Rodney once more politely declined her. Not only he insisted on being too old for her, this time he had another reason – she was his _student_. Not wanting to risk his newly attained dream-job, Angie relented for his sake though she felt, that thistime Rodney declined her half-heartedly (as though he was at least considering it). But what Rodney didn´t know was, that her feelings for him didn´t dissapear. In fact, over the years they seemed to only grow stronger and stronger. She became accustumized to hiding them well, while being around him for all this time. However now, and always when she saw his former classmates or ANY other girl flirt with him, a wild pang of jealousy came over her and she kept herself close to him out of habit. She was positively fumming even as they walked on, while gripping his arm with both her hands – keeping a deathgrip on him, as though afraid that if she let him go he would dissapear completly, never to return to her. The thought promting her to tighten her grip even more.

"Ow... Angie..."

The sound of Rodney´s uncomfortable voice brought her back to reality and she lessened her grip somewhat – though doing nothing to release his arm completly as they saw more young women approach them.

"I must say, I am astonished."noted Johnny Jack to his collagues, as the women left them after their short flirting with Rodney and Angie´s insistance, that they are in a hurry.

"Most of the time it is ME, who has to hurry away from the love-stricken ladies and girls... And here, no one even pays the slightest bit of attention to me."he said.

"You´re right, Johnny. In fact, the ladies of Beauvillage barely give any of us a second glance."nodded Adam Brians, also noticing this though not taking any offence of this.

"From what I´ve saw, all their attention are fixed on eighter Rodney here, or the _intéressant_ Mr Miles..."remarked Christopher Gee.

"You see, my dear guests... I´m afraid that our lovely girls and ladies are becoming more and more infatuated with Rodney here, as well as with Detective Wiseman and Michael Miles. In fact, during the last two weeks the girls have taken upon themselfs to compete with eachother for their affections."explained Mayor Haveitall.

Jean La Jolie sniffed.

"I find myself hard to believe this. Even the country´s top celebrities are not enough to distract them from this..."he shook his head, not bothering to hide his irritation to this fact.

Angie glared him over the others.

"That is because these three respective gentlemen are _worth_ it, Mayor La Jolie."she remarked in a calm voice, but her grip on Rodney´s arm tightened once more.

"Angie..."whispered Rodney quietly, understanding that her crush had not waned – however he found himself to be comfortable with the fact for some reason.

Neighter Angie nor La Jolie however took note of him, as they locked their glaring eyes.

"That may be true, my dear. But these people have their accomplishments and _deserve_ the attention. Unlike these three gentlemen, they have _earned_ their fame."argued La Jolie in the same calm voice.

"Maybe the girls and women of Beauvillage appretiate the three because of the fine men they ARE. Maybe they don´t _need_ to have a famous person besides them or capture their attention. _Maybe_ they want someone who is simple and easily approachable."remarked Angie, carefully hiding her irritation.

"That would definitely explain it."said Milton Weasel in deep thought, gaining the attention of both.

"Of course, these three live here and are under the eyes of the ladies all the time. Of course they focus much more on capturing the attention of someone who is right under their nose, instead of someone who is only here for a day - famous and therefore difficult to approach. With these three, the ladies seem to feel _themselfs_ and free, instead of masking themselfs to make the best possible impression."

Angie smiled at Milton, as well as the other celebrities who agreed whole-heartily. Only La Jolie scrowled.

"I can now easily see, _why_ Beauvillage produces so little art. When ladies throw away any talent they have in favor of some mediocre love interest. They have nothing to inspire them, nothing to _drive_ them. Nothing to develop their talents for. Unlike back home at Cygnuville – our girls are ambitious, creative and aim high trough their talents. As evidenced in the talent contest I´ve made – _Cygnuville Street Talent_."

Mayor Haveitall scrowled now. The Cygnuville Street Talent was another in a long line of contests, which Jean La Jolie set up in his neverending pursuit of fame and recodnition for his town. This last one however was an incredibly popular contest – widely broadcasted and popular, in fact every one in the country watched this contest on TV – a contest for young hopefull talented children from Cygnuville, one where they had the oppoturnity to show their various talents and the winners were given assistance to further their talents – something that gained incredible popularity for both Cygnuville and La Jolie himself. That was perhaps the reason, why La Jolie was more and more proud these days.

"I disagree, Mayor La Jolie. Beauvillage has many great talents – as a teacher of these fine young people, I should know best. This love-chase as it is, has nothing to do with their it."remarked Rodney calmly, firmly standing behind the youngsters he teaches, or taught.

La Jolie once more sniffed.

"I have to say, _mon ami_... I see nothing to prove this claim."

Johnny, Milton, Christopher and Adam looked at eachother and sighed – this was one trait, which they greatly disliked on their mayor, no matter on how good terms he was with them. Both Angie and Johnatan Haveitall glared him again – this time they HAD enough!

Angie was about to say something, before she felt Rodney reach with his other hand and gently placed it on her shoulder – the gesture alone enough to calm her down. Rodney held La Jolie´s challenging gaze as he smiled pleasantly – he knew someone, who would prove La Jolie wrong – one of his most prized young students.

"Come with us, mayor La Jolie. You will see _exactly_ how talented the youngsters of Beauvillage are."

...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Billy and Steve were walking towards the third sector, various types of gear in their arms. Steve was once more very cheerfull – something which lightened Billy´s spirits as the two were chatting leisurely as they went to his mother´s stand, where they were supposed to rezendevous with Lily and Lola. However as they approached Beth´s Burger Palace stand, the girls were nowhere to be seen. Only Beth was seen there chatting with a woman from the neighbouring Cygnuville croiscant stand.

"Oh, there you are."she exclaimed happily as the two young men approached.

Upon a small introduction with the woman – Madame Doux, who seemed to be just like his mother (which probably explained why the two women were getting along so well), Beth smiled warmly at the pair who as was agreed upon earlier on, placed their purchases into her stand.

"Mom, you wouldn´t happen to see Lola... we were supposed to meet here."explained Billy, looking from side to side.

"Oh she stopped by a moment ago, dear."nodded Beth happily.

"With her friend and Jaq."added Madame Doux, smiling to herself.

Both Billy and Steve shot the two women inquiring looks as they waited for an explanation.

"The pride of Cygnuville."said Madame Doux proudly.

"A very handsome boy indeed. Lola and Lily were showing him around. She asked me to tell you, that she´ll be waiting for you at the Moonshade Café."noted Beth, sharing the woman´s smile.

Billy´s eyes narrowed. The Moonshade Café was on the very edge of the Town Hall Square and a place, where most girls ussually went. Though Lola and Lily rarely visited – not only because of the prices. However it was a well known place in Beauvillage – a place, where most Beauvillage girls chose to go with their dates – much to the boy´s intense displeasure. In fact, Lola had chosed not to follow that tradition on their dates, knowing just how Billy felt about the place. Lola and Lily however came in once every two months – ussually upon a special occasion, when one of the pair had some extremely "importaint" girl-talk. He took a stare in the direction of the café and at once, he saw Lola and Lily sitting behind one of the tables outside. What made his eyes narrow though was the jet-black haired boy in a dark green sweater, who was sitting between the two girls and all three seemed to be engaged in what seemed to be a spirited conversation.

"He´s a very talented young man. Eversince he was a child, he always represented Cygnuville in both Art and Theatre too."said Madame Doux in a happy voice also watching the café.

"Oooh... he´s an artist?"asked Beth brightly.

"_Oh, oui_... he painted many paintings, is skilled in sculpture also a talented cook and a writer too. Everyone in Cygnuville knows him – and that IS saying something, since we´re such a big town."

"So he´s something of a celebrity."noted Steve also watching.

Madame Doux nodded smilingly.

"_Certainement_. He has won his fame at the age of 9 and since then his popularity is growing."

The foursome watched the scene at the café, just as Jaq and the girls erupted into laughter.

"They seem to be getting along just fine."noted Beth, clapping her hands happily.

Billy´s eyes narrowed more, a wild pang of jealousy hitting him.

"_Bien sûr_. Afterall our Jaq is a perfect gentleman. A good listener too... even tempted. He is extremly popular with girls too. Back home, every girl his age wants him."

Madame Doux´s remark seemed to have ignited a small flash in Billy´s eyes.

"Well isn´t that nice, right Billy?"asked Beth brightly looking at her son, only to find, that he was gone.

"Billy! Wait up!"exclaimed Steve as he set out after his best friend, who was swiftly walking towards the café.

Billy was now in a small state of panic. What he just heared seemed to have set off an alarm in his head – an alarm which was causing more hubbub than ANY of his father´s. He rarely felt jealousy like this since he got together with Lola but hearing about the _Pride of Cygnuville_, he felt threatened for some reason. And it looked like for good reason, because as he and Steve approached the café, he noticed that this boy – Jaq was sitting very closely to the two girls as the trio laughed once more, upon which Billy sped up his pace – Steve resorting to a small jog merely to keep up. Eversince getting together, Billy deeply treasured his relationship with Lola and vowed to protect it at all costs and though Lola definitely wasn´t the type to cheat, when it came to their relationship Billy often loses his head.

"_C'était assez drôle, Jaq_."chortled Lily as Jaq smiled pleasantly.

Lola sighed to herself with a smile, only guessing what her best friend just said – until Lily quickly translated it.

"It wasn´t very funny for me, I´m afraid. I hadn´t understood a thing you said."she said to Jaq as Lily explained Jaq´s tale.

Sighing to herself one more time she shook her head.

"Times like this, I really wish I learnt French. Or any foreign language for that matter."

Jaq gave her a warm smile and moved a bit more closer.

"You know Lola, if you´d ever like to learn I would be most happy to teach you."he said in a smooth voice.

Lola once more shook her head, though with a small smile.

"Unlikely Jaq. Afterall, you live on the other side of the country."

Jaq once more smiled pleasantly.

"Oh I think something could be arranged, _mon cher_."

Suddenly he noticed someone standing behind Lola. He quirked his eyebrow.

"Yes? Can we help you?"he asked politely and both girls looked behind them to see who had come.

Upon recodnizing the figure behind Lola, Lily´s face broke into a warm smile. Lola´s on the other hand turned to one of utmost joy as she rose, brought her arms around his neck and kissed him ever so lovingly. Billy returned the kiss whole-heartedly, but Lola could sence something in it – a kind of desperation mixed with relief. She flashed him a questioning look as soon as they separated and with just one single glance on his face, she understood. Smiling a bit to herself, she cast him a "_You have nothing to worry about_" look, she saw his face turn to one of relief and she resisted the urge to shake her head. Grabbing his hand, she turned to Jaq, who was visibly stunned, while Lily´s face sported a small look of longing.

"Jaq, this is my boyfriend. Billy Hubbub."she said introucing him.

Though still a bit stunned, Jaq stood up and the two shook their hands. Just then, Lily noticed someone else standing behind the couple and once more broke into a smile. Drawing up chairs for the two, the boys sat down – Billy by Lola´s right side, and Steve by Lily´s left. Jaq didn´t look particulary happy with the arrangement, however he broke into a pleasant conversation as the talks behind the table resumed.

"So you guys got all that you need."said Lily eyeing the pair.

"You got it, Lily. With that I can finally buff-up my bike. Though I have nothing as fine as you have, Billy."said Steve.

Much like his best friend, Steve also owned a bike. The pair was also known to have a race from time to time – some of their routes along town insighting complaints from some senior citizens and most importaintly Professor Melissa Morter.

"Oh well... I tend to do a lot of maintenance. Plus I´ve had several up-grades installed."said Billy idly.

"By my baby brother."added Lola slyly.

"_Billy Hubbub_, that´s cheating."Lily mock-scolded and Billy laughed sheepishly – not bothering to mention just WHY he was winning every race lately.

Steve was shocked.

"You´re kidding. You mean those new thrusters? HE installed them?!"

Blushing slightly, Billy nodded as he scratched his head in a sheepish manner.

"Well Miles delivered them, but I wasn´t very much able to do so... so I asked him to help."he explained.

"Which he did very eagerly I might add."noted Lola, remembering Chichi´s face and the spirited way he had taken up to the task.

"And he was done in thirty minutes."nodded Lily also remembering.

While Jaq was looking confused, Steve´s look of shock only deepened.

"A... amazing. You´re brother is a real technological genius, Lola."he said in a awestruck voice.

"Oh you wouldn´t believe everything he´s capable of doing."said Lily smiling to herself, thinking about their recent Bunglewood adventure.

"Oh and speak of the devil."said Lola looking in front of her.

As the rest of them looked, they saw Chichi and Phil walk past them, dreamy looks on both of their faces. Lola swiftly called them towards them and once more drew up chairs for the pair.

The girls giggled at their expressions as soon as they sat down.

"What has you two in such a state?"asked Lola still giggling somewhat.

"EX – 126 SuperTablet."answered Phil in a dreamy daze once more instilling a merry round of laughter from everyone except Chichi and Jaq.

"Figures. You´re such a little computer-freak."teased Lily affectionately, grabbing Phil who was sitting on her right side into a small headlock and ruffling his hair with obvious affection.

"Bookworm."he replied quietly, yet still dazed.

Lily instantly added some strength to her grip, but not enough to hurt him.

"I heared that, _Philip_."

Once another round of laughter died down, Billy looked to Chichi, who sat at Lola´s left side.

"And what has _you_ in such a daze, Chichi?"

Chichi barely took not of the question, looking even more in dreamland than his best friend.

"Trashbin... Weedpatch."he answered.

Everyone looked confused for a moment.

"We went to Miles´ stand to drop off our stuff and he introduced us to them. We´ve made friends with them. Apparently, Miles told them about Chichi and they think him to be extremly cool. Plus they gave him their new band album too."explained Phil.

"The new _Dr Quacko_ – _We can´t be better_... Donaldo only heared a few preview songs and told me that they were out of this world."nodded Chichi, completly dreamy-eyed.

"Uh-oh."breathed Lola, knowing already that her beloved brother will play the CD, the moment he´ll get home.

"Yeah but we were shocked to find out, that Trashbin is the son of the NATMA director."said Chichi coming out of his transe a bit.

The rest of the table shared pretty much the same shock. The NATMA – _National Television and Media Association_ was the country´s top media group and had been for more than half a century. It laid the foundation stone for the television broadcast in the country and eventhough since then many local and country stations have been in business, the NATMA remained on its top and pretty much dictated the way the country´s media service was done.

"Wow. He must be loaded."whistled Steve.

"You´re not kidding."nodded Billy, who could only imagine.

Jaq however sniffed and shot Miles´ truck-stand a reproachfull gaze.

"And _he_ wastes his time like THIS? Clowning around in a costume?!"he said shaking his head.

"What d´you mean, clowning?!"asked Chichi shooting him a small glare, but his voice was still calm and polite.

"I mean, that instead of using his position he wastes his time dancing like that and reducing himself into a shopsalesman."expalined Jaq, who obviously missed the angry glare that Chichi was still shooting him.

"He did it for his friend. Not to mention, that he used to do jobs just like that when he was rebelling against his father´s wishes a few years back. Now however he´s partnering with his father in the NATMA."he explained more to the others than the black-haired Cygnuvillian.

While Jaq continued to look dumbfounded, the conversation moved on towards the girls and their desired purchases. However when they saw Tex Workalot run past the café, apparently following someone Lily, Chichi and Phil erupted into laughter.

"Looks like Detective Clever is on the case."chortled Phil happily.

Lily shook her head.

"Not Clever. He´s Clear."amended Lily still giggling.

"I wonder where Clever and Capable are... not that I miss them, though."smiled Chichi.

The others at the table shot them confused looks, as the three shared another laugh. Unbeknowst to any of them, just as she began to write the sequel book, Phil and Chichi gave Lily the most amazing idea as she was searching for amusing opponents for Detective Razor and Rainbows. Phil suggested she´ think of someone in real life, who would fit the bill, and at once the trio knew who would insight lots of humor as well as make things difficult for the pair – The Brotherhood of the Wise. And so, Lily chose to take Nick, Tex and Archie and transform them into their book counterparts. Though she struggled with the names, Chichi quickly supplied them with good humor – Detectives Clever (Nick), Clear (Tex) and Capable (Archie). Eversince then, the threesome shared a private joke whenever they saw the three respective boys, often unable to stop the torrent of laughter that ensued. And Lily found that the three characters were very promising ones indeed – she tended to have much fun placing them into situations and with the help of the boys thinking up their antics.

"Hey, what´s so funny you three?"came a voice behind them.

Chichi recodnized the voice and smiled happily as he turned around.

"Oh nothing really, April. Yo, Chloe. You two done with the shopping?"he asked pleasantly smiling at the two girls.

Chloe and April both returned him warm smiles.

"Not much. We didn´t have that much money."admitted April as Chichi was drawing up chairs for them too, ignoring Jaq´s glare.

"Not to mention, there wasn´t much that we wanted or needed for that matter."noted Chloe as the two girls sat behind Chichi – the table being too small to accomodate the large number that gathered now.

"We spoke to Miles for a bit a while earlier though. But poor guy, he and his two friends really have their hands full."said April smilingly, looking over her shoulder with a smile, directing her sight on Miles´ truck.

Lily giggled affectionately.

"I think he would _hardly_ complain about it. He must be in seventh heaven right now."noted Lola, looking at the truck with a small eyeroll already imagining the look on his face as he would be picturing the results of his "_greed-grabbing_" as he happily called it.

"With lots of _greed_ raining down on him."added Chichi happily.

Phil, Billy, Chloe, April and Lily shared a laugh with the Tofu siblings.

"That´s our Miles all right."nodded Phil happily.

Jaq took a shocked breath and looked at all of them in terror.

"You mean you know that... that... _abomination_?"

Lily spun her head towards Jaq, propelled by a sudden wave of anger at what she just heared.

"**Abomination?! **What did you mean by **that**?!"she asked in english, which at once answered the gang´s confused looks, which were instantly replaced with anger as well.

Jaq narrowed his eyes at the truck.

"Judging by that stunt he pulled when he arrived I can tell that he´s an attention-seeker. All for the purpose to fill his pockets. Such antics merely drag down people´s potentional to mediocrity. And these people actually _like_ it. Oh, I´ve seen it so many times."

Both Lola and Chichi fixed him a hard glare.

"_Drag down people´s potentional to mediocrity?!_ By being... well, _original_ in his attention-seeking as you put it?!"asked Lola angrily.

"Furthermore, Miles is a _businessman_. Of _course_ he´s drawing attention for the purpose to fill his pockets. That´s what businessmen DO."said Chichi coldly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"And unlike most businessmen, he´s honest about his intentions and not cheating people out of their money."added Lily also glaring him.

Jaq however also folded his arms and shook his head.

"Honesty has NO part in this. People like him are clowning around and his victims look up to these _attractions_ instead of focusing on furthering their own talents. That´s why the many cities of our country are so..._sourd_. People throw away their potentional for such things and even _pay_ for it – basicly throwing away their sane minds in the process. Such things are an abomination of art and the pure path of life."

Chichi sniffed.

"Art and pure path of life?! Dude, what planet do you come from?"

Jaq now turned his icy glare on Chichi, who stood his ground in direct defiance.

"From a planet, where people actually _think_! Where people admire artists and philisophers not businessmen and rodeo-clowns!"

He was very well aware of the glares he was recieving from Billy, Lola, Phil, April, Chloe, Chichi and Lily but refused to budge.

"So what you´re implying is that **we** don´t think, is that it?!"asked Chichi, his jaw working angrily.

Jaq sniffed and looked down on him.

"Obviously you **don´t**. If you like consorting with someone like THAT."

"Who do you think you are to judge people like that? What do you know about us OR Miles for that matter?!"exclaimed Phil, losing his ussual calm.

Sniffing once more Jaq shook his head.

"I know one importaint thing – In order to reach one´s full potentional, you have to steer clear from such _company_. Look at that _Trashbin_... the son of one of the country´s most accomplished beings and he allowed himself to be reduced to a common salesman – THAT is precicely where such _friendships_ will lead you. And I know another thing – you two are in no position to talk."

He pointed to both Phil and Chichi.

"You should instead take an example from older, _accomplished_ people. Like ME for instance. _I _have already achieved much more than you, _les petits garcons _or this _abomination_ can ever hope to."

A loud bang rang trough the outdoor part of the café. Losing control of her increasing anger, Lily stood up and pounded her fist on the table with surprising strength. So much in fact, that the glasses on the table shook and the one that was closest to hers rolled from the table and broke on the concrete ground. The entire café fell silent and the gang held their breath. Even Lola was completly sure, that she NEVER seen Lily so angry in the half-decade of knowing her. Jaq cowered thistime under the angry, livid glare he was getting.

"NOW LISTEN TO **ME**! I DON´T CARE IF YOU´RE A GUEST OR NOT, BUT I WILL NOT HAVE YOU INSULTING MY FRIENDS! YOU KNOW ABSOLUTELY **NOTHING** ABOUT EIGHTER OF THEM AND NOTHING IN THE **WORLD** GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO JUDGE THEM! AND FOR YOUR _EXCLUSIVE_ INFORMATION, CHICHI PHIL AND MILES HAVE ACHIEVED SOMETHING THAT POMPOUS, STUCK-UP, ARROGANT ASSHOLES LIKE **YOU** WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO!"

Lily´s outburst hung in the air for a few seconds until they heared a low whistle behind Lily. Lily felt a hand touch her shoulder gently.

"Woah, Lily... cool it down a bit."

The gang drew in their breaths as they saw the group that arrived. Lily turned her head to find, that her homeroom professor – Rodney Philips was standing right behind her, a small look of awe on his face. Right next to him was Angie Haveitall, her father – the mayor, a man in a stylish violet suit and a matching colored hat on his head. The company behind them made Lily take in her breath and blush a deep shade of red. Standing behind Philips, the violet-suited man and the two Haveitalls were people, whom she recodnized but never seen in the flesh – Milton Weasel, Adam Brians, Christopher Gee and the ever-so famous Johnny Jack – all of whom sported curious looks at the outburst they undoubtably had to hear as they approached.

"What are you kids doing?"asked Mayor Haveitall, hoping to answer his curiosity.

"Arguing, Mayor Haveitall. Arguing."answered Chichi in a calm and neutral voice and a completly straight face, as though the truth of it should be obvious to anyone.

Milton Weasel snorted in good humor while the Beauvillage mayor surveyed the scene. The presence of Jaq La Jolie and the words that were heared troughout half of the street offered every single explanation he needed. Instantly he felt deep understanding, feeling that he really shouldn´t tell the blushing girl off for losing her nerves – especially when _he_ himself had been in a similar situation with the boy´s father for most of this day. Instead he offered them a kind smile.

"Arguing you say, Chichi? And how is it going?"he asked idly as though asking about the day´s weather.

Catching on to mayor´s intention, Chichi smiled brightly and gave him a thumbs-up.

"_In_credibly, mr Mayor. In fact I don´t think we could do a better job of it if we _tried_."he replied with cheerfull animation.

This had the intended effect. The tension in the air had lifted and several of them, young or old loosed an amused chuckle, while both the father and son La Jolie looked thunderstruck. Smiling on at the genuis-boy the mayor moved forward.

"You youngsters won´t mind us joining you at the table, will you now?"he asked politely, understaning Rodney Philips´ plan the moment he saw who they were approaching when they headed to the café.

"Be our guest, but I´m not sure that this tiny little table will accomodate us all."nodded Chichi, but looked at the small table which was already packed full.

"Oh that´s no trouble. Angie dear, can you go into the café and tell the manager that the Mayor´s party would like to be seated behind a _large_ table?"said the mayor pleasantly turning to his daughter.

...

Several minutes later the entire party was seated in the king-size table, which was ussually occupied by the large number of customers which visited the café eachday. The place also held smaller tables, where couples sat. The light pink and sky blue interior was now completly empty, owing to the Outdoor Sale as had become the habit over the years. Numerous people ussually chose to sit outside on this occasion as not to be far from the action. Today was no exception, so Angie had no trouble in securing the free table neccessary. The only two occupants politely left outside to give their beloved mayor and his guests room for privacy. The owners of the café - Mr and Mrs Sweetlong spiritedly took to the task of serving the needs of the seated group as the two mayors, Angie, Rodney, Jaq (looking very smug) and finally the celebrities ordered drinks and in some cases sweets or cakes.

"I have heared much about the famous _Moonshade Desert Special_ of Beauvillage. I am dying to try it."said Adam Brians kindly to Mr Sweetlong, who looked extremly surprised that his special desert – a recipe he had learnt from his father, had carried to a famous singer.

Mrs Sweetlong approached the Beauvillage teenage group, smiling gently at them.

"You should order too, dears. Have what you like, its on the house today. And I won´t take "NO" for an answer."she added as the teens started to protest.

"By the way...You haven´t seen Emily by any chance?"asked Mr Sweetlong as he still waited Milton Weasel and Christopher Gee to order.

"She´s at the stands with Archie."answered April brightly as Billy, Steve, Lola and Lily placed their order.

"Showering him with kisses no doubt."added Chloe smirkingly.

Mrs Sweetlong´s face took on a radiant smile as Mr Sweetlong took a deep sigh – not that he hadn´t been happy for his daughter, but he didn´t exactly share his wife´s joy upon learning that his young daughter started dating, even if the boy was one, he knew quite well over the years.

"I can´t thank you enough for helping them get together, Lily. I swear I haven´t seen Emmy so happy since she was a child."said Mrs Sweetlong eyes full of appretiation.

Lily blushed heavily.

"I was happy to do it, Mrs Sweetlong."she said sheepishly.

Mrs Sweetlong smiled at her again and after Chichi and Phil placed their order left into the kitchen along with her husband.

Mayor Haveitall stood up and called attention to himself.

"Allright, to cut the introductions shorter, allow me to have the honor..."

He paused and gestured to the guests.

"Young ones, this is Milton Weasel, Christopher Gee, Adam Brians, Johnny Jack..."he said gesturing to each of them, though everyone from the teens knew their names very well.

"... Jean La Jolie – the mayor of Cygnuville..."he continued gesturing to his violet-suited collague.

"... and last but not least his son – Jaq La Jolie – the mayor´s son and a talented young artist known as the Pride of Cygnuville..."

Jaq flashed them a sly smile and the Beauvillage teens scrowled, understanding the black-haired Cygnuvillan´s snobbish and pompous attitude and the exact reason for it. It did little to change their opinion of his behaveour however. The celebrities now looked in expectance at the youngsters as the mayor cleared his throat once more and flashed the teens a smile.

"Dear guests from Cygnuville allow me to introduce Beauvillage´s gifted youngsters – the pride of Beauvillage."he said proudly as he began gesturing to each.

"Chloe Stranely, April Spock, Steve Rowan, Billy Hubbub, Phil Conners, Lola Tofu..."

Mayor La Jolie sniffed slightly, mystified at the reason just _why_ was Haveitall introducing perfect nobodys to his celebrated guests.

"Tofu? You wouldn´t happen to be related to Iris Tofu by any chance?"asked Milton Weasel curiously.

"She´s our grandmother."answered Lola uncertainly.

Milton Weasel clapped his hands.

"Amazing. So you are part of the famous _green_ family. I remember well your grandmother´s work in the Enviroment Protection Organization – I supported it in Cygnuville years back when there was a industrial problem in Cygnuville."

The other celebrities looked awed.

"That must mean... that this is the very Beauvillage family I heared so much about – The Tofus."said Adam Brians.

Lola and Chichi were shocked that stories about their family have spread beyond Beauvillage. Christopher Gee was looking at Chichi with a mixture of awe and happiness.

"So you, my lad must be Chichi Tofu – Beauvillage´s boy-genius."

The table fell silent. The celebrities fixed their awestruck eyes on Chichi who´s shocked face was growing redder by the second.

"How... how do you know about me...?"he asked in a thunderstruck voice, shocked beyond belief.

On the other hand, who wouldn´t if you found that an actor, who played one of the most favourite characters of your childhood – the feared Count in the _Dragon Lord_ series - was familiar with your name and eyed you with obvious respect.

"My dear friend Robin Orbin told me about you. He thinks very highly of you."explained Christopher Gee kindly.

"M...Mr Orbin? You know eachother?"asked Chichi still not able to believe it.

Gee laughed to himself slightly.

"Of course. We were classmates in collage. I visit him in Megacity whenever I have the time. I have also heared about the Drug case and how well you faired in helping the police arrest the dealers and cleanse the street of that filth for good. The way I heared it, many other shop owners in that neighbourhood are greatly appretiative of the help you and your friends gave them. They said, that you are a gifted technological genius and that you even helped them fix their damaged machines – many of which they thought were beyond repair until you proved them wrong by putting them back together."

Both La Jolie´s jaws fell open and even his sister and friends were eyeing him in awe. All of them now understood why the shop owners of the Megacity´s targeted street were so eager to give him many gifts like the custom-made clothing he was currently wearing.

"A little something you forgot to mention, brother dearest...hm?"asked Lola eyeing her blushing brother.

"I must´ve forgot."he answered sheepishly ensuing a chorus of laughter.

"Secretive little thing, aren´t you?"teased Lily smilingly.

"Have I ever told you, that you´re _amazing_ Chichi honey-bun?"asked April flashing him a loving smile.

"Almost every _day_... and _when_ are you going to _stop_ calling me that?!"answered a blood-red faced Chichi defusedly.

"Neveeer."she sing-songed back and another round of laughter gripped the group as Chichi goaned and tried to hide his blushing face under the table.

Mayor Haveitall cleared his throat again as the laughter died down again.

"And last but definitely not least... Lily Robins."

A giant wave of silence came over the table. The La Jolie´s were white and even the celebrities looked at her as though they couldn´t believe their eyes nor ears.

"L...Lily ROBINS? The author of THE Great Mystery?!"asked Jean La Jolie, who had not yet read the novel but its rapidly growing country-wide popularity was something that couldn´t possibly escape his notice – not when over half of Cygnuville´s teenagers and numerous adults were now reading it – the book gaining more and more fans by the hour.

Jaq on the other hand gaped at her like crazy – the novel got to his hands two days after it hit Cygnuville and instantly become his favourite, dispite the fact that he is only reaching the middle of the book, still having three chapters to go.

"_Vous étiez assis avec eux et vous ne savez pas son nom de famille?_"La Jolie asked his son quietly.

"_Nous avons seulement échangé nos prénoms, papa._"breathed Jaq, unable to believe just _who_ he was sitting with for the last thirty minutes.

"Amazing."breathed Milton Weasel, who was a long-time fan of detective novels.

"I´ve only begun reading the book, but I have to say... the story is already amazing. I´m really looking forward to reading how it turns out."nodded Adam Brians, eyeing her in awe.

Suddenly Johnny Jack stood up and walked toward her. He grabbed her right hand and looked into her eyes with absolute and utter respect.

"Ms Robins, I finished the book just yesterday. That was the greatest detective novel I have ever read. In fact, I can´t remember a time when I practicly ate away the contents of the book – I just couldn´t stop reading it and I read it in two days which has to be a personal record of mine. Its a great honor for me to meet such a talented author."

Smilingly he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and a copy of the Great Mystery.

"Will you do me the honor of sighning my copy of this amazing book?"

It took a few moments for Lily to recompoze herself and get over the shock of what was actually happening – the actor, that almost every girl in the country (including her) was crazy about, the man she never thought she would _meet_ much less speak with was asking **her** for an autogram. After a few seconds of deafening silence Lily, still blushing like mad smiled gently and took the book and the pen from his hands and wrote down her signature.

...

"Damn it... where did he go?!"grunted Nick to himself.

He scanned the crowd of people again, having once more lost sight of his quarry.

"Nick, do you smell that?"came Mia´s voice from behind him.

Turning over his shoulder he saw that Mia had significantly calmed down since the encounter with her elder sister. Right now, her eyes were closed and she looked serene.

"Do you smell that?"she asked in a surprisingly gentle voice.

Nick sniffed the air and gave her a confused look.

"What?"

Mia´s scrowl returned onto her face and she glared Nick.

"You´ve got the biggest nose in Beauvillage and you _can´t_ smell it?!"

Now it was Nick´s turn to give her an icy glare. Mia however took no note of it and looked around troughoutly.

"There... look!"she gestured to a stand nearby.

Looking at the direction she was pointing at, he spied the Cygnuvillan stand that served croissants.

"So what?"he asked icily.

"Let´s go get some. They´re awesome when they´re fresh."

Mia´s reply promted Nick to smack a hand on his forehead.

"You´re impossible! In case you haven´t noticed, we´re following suspects and we are about to spring the trap! And all you can think of since we got here is your stomach and whatever attractions the stands have!"he yelled angrily.

"THAT´S IT! I´ve had it with you and your stupid mission! I should´ve never agreed to come here with you in the first place."she yelled back in equal anger.

"Finally we agree on something!"growled Nick.

Mia huffed and turned her back to him.

"_Whatever_. I´m going to get my croissants and you can clown around all you want _on your own!_"she exclaimed and stomped off in the direction of the stand.

"Dumb cow."grumbled Nick in anger, though he felt a small wave of sadness mixed with concern.

However he quickly pushed those thoughts out of his head. There was a case to be solved here afterall. Scanning the crowd again, he moved in the opposite direction, pulling out his walkie-talkie as he went.

"This is Wise 2. Following suspect in Sector 3."

He smirked to himself as he found the man he was following, who was evidently behaving more and more suspitiously.

"Soon enough... the trap will spring."

...

The Moonshade café was buzzing with numerous conversations. Their order of cakes, sweets and drinks on the table were there but most was left pretty much untouched. To the immense surprise of the Beauvillage teens, the celebrities seemed to find them as interesting as they found them. Chloe, Steve, Billy and April were in animated conversation with Adam Brians discussing music and in the case of the boys motorbikes – Adam owning a marvelous bike himself. After learning that Chichi applied the new thrusters to Billy´s bike, he asked Chichi if he would consider looking at his bike, should he ever have a problem.

Lola and Lily were locked in conversation with Johnny Jack – who left Lily astounded when he said that the Great Mystery has also captured the interest of a director friend of his and that he expressed his wish to make the movie version of it. Even more, when Johnny said that he insisted upon taking the role of Detective Razor – finding it to be a character he would love to play. Lily was still recompozing herself as the conversation moved from her book to the Megacity´s Art and Music Academy, where Johnny Jack studied and where Lola is planning to enroll after leaving High School. Furthermore, Johnny Jack seemed to have taken a liking to both Lily AND Lola.

"Oh some subjects won´t be a walk in the park, but the other half will surely make up for it. You´ll have lots of fun with your classmates too. In fact, most of the modern acting generation is from my class. We tend to have small meetings and outings from time to time, provided we don´t have work to do."he said to Lola pleasantly.

"I´ve heared a rumor, that Mary Buttons was also attending the academy."said Lily thoughtfully – reciting the rumor about the successfull singer, who is one of the country´s top favourites and won the yearly _Star-singer_ prize for the 8th time in a row.

"That´s true. In fact she was my classmate."nodded Johnny Jack.

"And she didn´t take up acting?"asked Lola curiously.

"For a while she did. She played in a few theatre plays but she always enjoyed singing more. She´s very talented and has that special star quality."he replied smiling to himself slightly.

The girls were surprised when they saw the faint blush on his face. Giggling they directed him sly smiles.

"You wouldn´t by any chance be interested, Johnny?"asked Lola slyly.

Johnny´s blush deepened and he swiftly beckoned them closer.

"To tell the truth, girls... yes. I´ve been interested since our academy days. But this is a top secret, ok?"he said resulting in another wave of giggles as the three continued the conversation quietly.

Though they hardly needed to worry. Right next to them Chichi and Phil were joyfully talking with Christopher Gee about the _Dragon Lord_ series – the old man being as much of a fan as they were. His face turned to one of absolute surprise as they told him of their new treasured possetions.

"I can´t believe that you have those action-figures. The production stopped making them in 1986. And the Spirit of Fire was a 1984 special series only. In fact, I believe that only about a hundred pieces were ever made. However did you come across them?"

Chichi and Phil looked at eachother smilingly.

"We inherited them from a very special man."said Phil.

"He bought them for his son and since he left Beauvillage, the figures remained and the old man wanted us to have them since we´re fans."nodded Chichi.

Christopher smiled gently.

"He must´ve been a very kind man then."

"That he was."said Phil in a gentle voice.

"The funny thing is, that the figures are still in mint condition."said Chichi.

Indeed the figures were looking completly brand new dispite being older than he was. Chichi suspected, that Balthazar or probably Ezekiel used some Green Magic spell on them to ensure that the colors won´t fade.

Suddenly a loud hillarious laughter rang from the other side of the table. Rodney, Angie and Mayor Haveitall were laughing like mad, while Milton Weasel was looking smilingly. They have just been discussing the social problems of the country and Milton have taken to making amusing comments to it in ways only he could – having the talent to deliver a punch-line with merely a few words. Jean and Jaq La Jolie however weren´t laughing at all. It was clear, that the pair of them weren´t impressed with how the celebrities´ visit to Beauvillage was going. Clearing his throat importaintly, Jean looked at the rest of them seriously.

"Still... talent is something which should be encouraged and presented widely in order to inspire the remaining population."he said defending what he just said, and what Milton have made fun of.

"But I´m not sure, that presenting it in national television is the best way to do it, Mayor La Jolie. Afterall, as you can see with these bright children here, some of them are prefectly capable to earn their reputation just fine."noted Rodney, feeling immense pride at Lily and even Chichi, though he wasn´t a student of his yet.

Trough Lola and Lily, he had gotten to know the boy a bit better over the last year and instantly recodnized his and his best friend´s talents. That and he heared much about them from _their_ principal _and_ homeroom teacher, both of whom ussually spend time with him on Saturday night. In fact he was secretly wishing, that when the two respective boys enter Beauvillage High, he would become their homeroom professor.

La Jolie sniffed.

"Be that as it may, professor Philips. Other children should be inspired too and they need all the help they can get."he insisted.

"Oh of course, mayor. Afterall... celebrity-leveled popularity can´t _possibly_ turn any teenager´s head."nodded Milton in a serious voice.

Another round of laughter swept trough the rest of them. Mayor La Jolie once more sniffed.

"There´s also the matter of ensuring your city´s popularity – a contest like the _Cygnuville Street Talent_ is just that. It ensures both public attention for the city AND helps the youngsters realize their talents and further them even more."he said before letting out a small chuckle.

"But I imagine, that Beauvillage wouldn´t be able to host such a contest in any case. I doubt you have the ability or connections to do such a widely broadcasted contest."he said smugly.

A loud bang shook the table. Thistime though it was the Beauvillage mayor, who lost control of his anger. After who knows how long, the ever-calm Johnatan Haveitall lost his head. The other conversations at the table ended abruptly. The Beauvillage teens were now witnessing a sight they never saw in their lives – Mayor Haveitall - eyes narrowed into slits, mustache quivering, face contorted in rage and a amazingly cold glare fixed on the violet-suited man.

"We´ll see about that. Mark my words, Jean La Jolie... in front of these witnesses... Beauvillage will make the national television with a contest of our own."he growled gesturing to everyone else who eyed the scene.

"Daaaaaaad."muttered Angie with a deep sigh.

This is precicely what she was afraid of. Her father taking La Jolie´s bait and agreeing to playing his game – promising something he won´t be able to fulfil.

"Care to make a bet on that, Johnatan?"smirked La Jolie.

"You bet your life on it, Jean."nodded Haveitall.

Angie slapped her forehead in horror. Rodney quickly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Allright. If you win, I will serve for an entire day in this very café."suggested La Jolie.

"And shave off your precious mustache."added Johnatan, eyeing his face.

La Jolie raised his eyebrow but after a few seconds nodded.

"Agreed Johnatan. BUT... if I win, you will open the Cygnuville Town´s Day Festival... dressed _as a clown_."said La Jolie smirking.

Jaq swiftly clapped a hand to his mouth in order to hold in his laughter.

"And of course, you´ll shave off _your_ mustache before that."added mayor La Jolie.

A long moment of silence lingered as the two older men held their gaze.

"Dad, don´t..."said Angie very softly, hoping to persuade her father to see sence.

To no avail. Johnatan Haveitall took Jean La Jolie´s outstretched hand.

"You... are... on, Jean."

Angie banged her head on the table, Rodney ran his hand on her back in a consoling way. But there was no going back now. The bet had been made. In the deafening silence all of them became aware of the loud screaming and yelling coming from outside. Looking from one to the other, all of them stood up and rushed to the door to check what was going on. The scene outside was pure pandemonium. People running up and down.

"What´s going on?"asked Lola eying the scene.

"I have no idea."whispered Lily looking from side to side.

"Its the burglars! Frederick and the Police have sprung the trap!"exclaimed Angie.

The Beauvillage teens gasped in revelation, being familiar with the stream of robberies.

In that instance they saw a man running from a pair of other men they recodnized as Daniel Rogers and his elder collague Eugene. Chichi sprung to action immediately. He kicked the chair that was nearby. The chair sled straight under the feet of the running man. The man looking over his shoulder failed to notice the sliding chair and at once tripped over the chair and fell to the ground in a heap. The two incognito policemen wasted no time in restraining the man, no matter how much the man on the ground struggled.

"Thanks for that Chichi."exclaimed Daniel as he and his collagues restraint the man.

"Anytime Daniel. Anytime."replied Chichi as he scanned the crowd.

Scanning the crowd Chichi spotted the numerous squabbles going on in the entire sector.

Without another word, Chichi sprang into action, sprinting into the crowd.

"Chichi! Wait up!"exclaimed Phil and set out straight after his best friend.

"Wait for me!"yelled Billy, running after the two younger boys.

"Rodney, where are you going?!"exclaimed Angie as Rodney set out after the boys.

"We have to go and help out!"he exclaimed before dissapearing in the crowd.

"Rodney!"she exclaimed but to no avail – Rodney Philips already set out into the crowd straight after the three boys leaving the remainder rooted on the spot.

Deep in Sector 3 panic was underway. Numerous suspitious people were running about determined to evade the people who revealed themselfs as the members of Beauvillage Police Department – the chase going on and on, but the robbers innevitably recodnized, that there was nowhere to escape. Not that they weren´t trying – they were running from side to side, determined to find an opening in the loop, the Beauvillage Police had prepared for them.

Most were quickly losing their heads – the very reason why Wiseman´s plan was to apprehand the criminals as soon as possible. Something that didn´t exactly go as planned. The suspects were running like crazed rabbits – determined to evade capture – wrecking the stands in the process, several citizens tried all they could to help the policemen.

As one of the wooden stands flew apart, the robbers using whatever means they had at their disposal in order to escape.

"Emmy, HIDE!"exclaimed Archie as he took one of the long poles, that supported the Beauvillage stand – the foundation pole to be exact, at the absence of which, the stand promtly fell apart even as he ran forward with the pole, which was waggling from one side to the other – being much higher than Archie himself.

Emily crouched low along with numerous other girls, young and old as she watched her boyfriend dart into the crowd and promtly look from side to side as he tried with all his might to see where the crooks might be.

"ARCHIE!"exclaimed Emily as the shady character appeared behind him.

Turning rapidly behind him, Archie failed to acknowledge the pole in horizontal position that was still in his hands – as he turned the pole swung rapidly and made contact with the head of the burglar. The man fell backwards and landed on the ground.

"Well done, Archie!"exclaimed an elder policeman dressed in overalls as his collague started to bind the unconcious man.

"No time to lose... I´ll move forward. There´s still criminals to catch."he said before strolling on into the crowd much to the worried gasp of his girlfriend.

On the other side of the sector, Mia was just munching down on her croissants as she noticed the number of men dart past her nearly knocking her over. Suddenly a young man, dressed plainly was staning in front of her.

"Get out of my way, girl!"he yelled commandingly.

"I don´t know why I should"she yelled defiantly.

The man approached her menacingly.

"If you don´t get out of my way right now..."he growled drawing out his knife, stepping dangerously close to her.

A loud howl of pure excruciating pain rang out the surroundings as the man fell to the ground screaming in pure agony. He had made the mistake of getting too close to Mia, who was extremly capable of delivering a powerfull kick – and it was straight into the place, where it hurt all men the most. The larger man promtly rolled over on to the ground, shaking and moaning in all-consuming pain.

"Why you little brat!"exclaimed another burglar behind her – more muscular and larger than the one she put down.

She didn´t even know how... in a moment she found herself in the scumbag´s deathgrip, holding her tightly to himself as he looked at the numerous undercover policemen who had already revealed their allegiance by standing up to him. Mia was paralyzed completly as she felt something cold and sharp under her neck – the blade of a knife.

"Don´t anybody move! Or I´ll slit her throat! You understand, stupid copers?!"he yelled as he gripped his hostage.

"Now let me pass... or you´ll see this little girl´s blood on the ground!"he yelled once more.

Mia squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Unbid to herself, she began to shake – a horrifying sence of fear gripping her. She was almost completly sure, that this rough brute would fufil his promise – that she was going to _die_. Suddenly a loud _wham_ and an even louder _snap_ at the very same time was heared from behind her and she felt the man´s grip loosen. She opened her left eye as she heared the knife fall to the ground, felt the man´s arms slide from her without any pressure, hearing a loud thud and feeling something heavy collapsing by the back of her feet. Turning around she gasped as she spotted the one person, whom she did NOT expect to see.

Nick was staning behind her in a wide-legged stance as though he just delivered a double-handed blow. With a gasp, she realized that he HAD! In his hands was a wooden pole, which had been broken a few centimeters from his grip. As Mia looked at her feet she noticed a well-built, muscular man lying on the ground completly out of it. That meant only one thing – Nick had saved her life – knocking the asshole out for HER sake.

"Are you all right, Mia?"he asked as he stepped in closer, eyeing her up and down, to determine whether she was hurt or not – the gesture not going unnoticed or unappretiated by her.

"F...fine, Nick..."she breathed as he took her by the shoulders and turned a analytical gaze up and dow on her.

She could feel her cheeks going hotter and redder in color. Nick however took no note of this, as he double-checked her for any injuries. Behind them, two of the policemen were already binding the unconcious man.

"Woah that HAD to hurt. Nick, you sure did a number on him."said one of them while shooting Nick and Mia a glance.

"Well all the working out I was doing lately seemes to have paid off."nodded Nick, showing off his muscles.

Mia giggled.

"Too bad, that no ammount of working out could transform that ugly mug of yours."she joked, but in a completly different voice now – one that oozed affection.

Nick scrowled a bit, but returned her a half-smile.

"Watch it, blondie... I saved your life, remember?"

The pair actually shared a chuckle.

"Don´t get full of yourself, monkey face."she countered gently.

"Ok. You stay here, I´m going to help them round up the rest."he instructed before running off with one of the policemen.

"He´s really a good one. Great help for us."commented the remaining policeman who was smiling at Nick´s and his collague´s retreating forms.

Mia looking at the same direction also sported an extremly rare gentle smile.

"I agree with you. I wish he would be more good-looking, though."she said with a giggle.

...

The centre of the Town Hall Square sported a massive containment of chaos. Even as the now identified burglars brandished numerous weapons like knives, poles and pretty much anything they were able to get their hands on, it did nothing to discourage the policemen or the citizens who were determined to give the theifs what they rightly deserved. Some of them ended up being restrained by the angry Beauvillagers – many were seen fighting them. Billy, Phil, Chichi and even Rodney Philips among them. In the wake of the chaos, many stands were demolished as the burglars did whatever they could to ward off the people. One such had used a small axe to break the foundation poles of one of the larger stands and now the large stand was falling apart, the people under it, running away before it collapses.

"ANGIE!"screamed Rodney Philips as he saw Angie right under the collapsing stand.

Noticing it, Angie screamed but was too shocked to move. Suddenly she felt someone grab her by the waist and throw her away. She fell to the ground, but was safe from the stand that collapsed a mere second later. A loud goan was heared from beneath it as someone was clawing out of the brocken stand. With a gasp of horror she realized who it was.

"RODNEY!"she screamed running closer.

Swiftly taking his hand, she helped him pull himself out of the pile.

"Rodney! Are you all right?!"she asked in urgency, even as she was checking him up and down.

"I´m fine."he answered quietly though he knew very well, that the feat had not left him uninjured.

Angie noticed this too, finding several bruises, cuts and even a lump forming on his head.

Lola, Lily, April, Chloe were still standing with the celebrities, the two mayors and the Sweetlong couple at the door of the Moonshade Café surveying the scene with a mixture of worry and horror. Suddednly a gunshot ran trough Town Hall Square. Several people let out a terrified scream. The obvious leader of the burglars was brandishing a gun pointed to the sky, where the first shot was obviously fired.

"Don´t anybody move! Let me pass, or the next one won´t be in the clouds."he said sternly, pointing the gun from person to person as he moved slowly.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL LOW-LIFE!"

The criminal looked at the source of the voice only to find a man in black-suited man with a matching hat and a long black beard, who was like him holding a gun – and aimed for him.

Laughing mirthlessly he aimed at the rabbi-like person.

"Nice disguise, Wiseman. Unfortunately you didn´t do much of a good job. I recodnized you immediately. I have to compliment you on your little plan. I on the other hand am not so stupid like the others – you won´t catch me!"

Though swearing under his breath at his fool-proof disguise being useless, Wiseman smiled a bit.

"Don´t be so sure my dear, crime-infested friend. The great Detective Wiseman is on the job."

The man laughed again, this time with humor.

"Don´t get so full of yourself, Detective. I´m NOT afraid of killing. Now... unless you want me to start shooting into these innocent people."he said and for good-measure pointed his gun randomly into the crowd, not taking his sights from Wiseman.

"I WON´T LET YOU HARM THE PEOPLE OF BEAUVILLAGE!"exclaimed Wiseman before squeezing the trigger.

However, due to his "maintenance" the gun fell apart in his hand, not even firing the bullet. A few seconds of silence lingered, then the criminal laguhed again.

"Thank you for entertaining me, Wiseman. I think you deserve the exclusive honor of the first bullet."he said maliciously as he aimed his gun once more on Wiseman.

POW!

The criminal promptly lost conciousness as the top of his head connected with a iron-like fist of Michael Miles. With dazed eyes he turned around, the gun falling from his hand as he did so. He swayed a moment as he looked at Miles, then slid powerlessly to the ground – going to dream land.

The lingering moment of silence was broken by a loud cheer that boomed over Town Hall Square as Beauvillagers rejoiced for its two heroes.

"Close call there, Wisey."called Miles as he and Wiseman were raised from their feet by the numerous people and carried towards the Moonshade café accompanied by happy cheers and clapping.

In 10 minutes, the numerous thiefs were being "escorted" into the van – some in states of unconsiousness – since they were misfortunate enough to come into contact with Miles´ infamous "Ol´Thunderbolts". The on the podium, stood the celebrities and the Beauvillage teenagers, along with the Brotherhood of the Wise. The mayor had cleared his throat and took the microphone.

"My dear Beauvillagers, today the thiefs purpotrating dispicable stealing in our very own little town were captured. I would like to thank those of you, who have helped our brave policemen to capture them. Also I´m happy to note, that our young ones..."he gestured to Chichi, Billy, Phil, Nick, Tex and Archie, who were standing behind him on his right side, with the Cygnuville guests occupying the left.

"...have also decided to stand-up for what is right and just. I would personally like to thank them and express my deepest pride and joy in having such amazing and exceptionall young people in our town."he said, flashing a smug look on Mayor La Jolie as the crowd went wild with cheers and applause.

La Jolie huffed, but decided to keep quiet. Especially because not only Beauvillagers, but also the people of Cygnuville and even the celebrities themselfs were clapping and cheering while flashing the youngsters admirable glances. Though most of them looked a bit messy and sporting numerous small injuries, they were smiling brightly as though it was nothing at all.

"And now, I think we all have to thank Beauvillage´s two very own superheroes – I´m talking of course about Michael Miles and Detective Wiseman."

The crowd went wild again as the two respective gentlemen walked onto the podium. Girl squeals and love-sick looks were coming full on from nearly every teenage girl there.

"I ´m am proud of these two amazing gentlemen. Michael, Frederick – Beauvillage wants to give you its utmost appretiation. Do you have anything you would like to say to the people"he asked kindly as the two of them came closer to the microphone.

Wiseman made a move towards the microphone, but Miles was a split-second quicker. Taking the microphone into his hand, he raised his other arm into the air.

"Thank you, thank you mr Mayor. Now my sweet people, ol´ Milesey did it all because Beauvillage is his first and only home. I´ve never really had one before and I promise that I will protect it tooth, nail and thunderbolt whenever neccessary. Beauvillage is my family! And family is supposed to help eachother and share, right...?"he said as the crowd once more erupted into applause and cheers.

"Of course I´m right. So if you guys got any unneccessary _paper_ in your pocket, that you don´t need, please share with your beloved super-heroin´ little and big brother, cousin, uncle, aunt Miles – that is ME. And another thing..."

However the microphone was wrenched from his hand by Wiseman.

"Give me that... Now, my dear Beauvilagers... I want to assure you that the Beauvillage Police Department now works better than ever before. And with such great people like yourselfs, Beauvillage will become the very first crime-free town in history. I would like to thank my brotherhood and of course each and every member of the Police Department. Together – we have captured the crooks and we´ll send them to jail TILL THEY ROT!"

Another deafening cheer rang out trough Beauvillage as each and every spectator sprun into animated applause.

"Lemme have this Wisey."said Miles as he grabbed the microphone again.

"I´m not finished, you tactless hooligan!"retorted Wiseman as he yanked the mic back.

"But I wanna adress the people too. I still wasn´t finished with my plea to the people to share some _greed_."whined Miles as he yanked as well.

The spectators were now treated with a small show, as the two men were yanking the mic towards eachother´s way, wanting to speak to the people – bickering like little children.

"Let it go, before I arrest you!"threatened Wiseman, pulling with all his might.

"Let it go, before **I** thunderbolt _you_!"replied Miles, likewise pulling with all the strength he could muster.

Many Beauvillagers, including the teenagers, Angie, Rodney and even Mayor Haveitall himself couldn´t hold their laughter as the still costumed pair bickered until finally their tuggle-war resulted in losing their balance and falling straight from the podium.

...

**A/N: **Ok this chapter took me a bit longer that I expected. But with the holidays on and everything I was having less and less time for writing - something that´s gonna change now (I hope). Anyway I guess you can guess the Mayor´s motivation for the upcoming contest :D Plus there would be a few couples here too... so fluff coming your way in this episode :D That and soon enough, you´ll find out more about Miles´childhood.

HK07


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What on Earth were you thinking, Dad?!"scolded Angela as she reached for medical supplies in the storage closet of Town Hall.

Her father, who was standing just behind her sighed sadly. It was merely 5 minutes ago, when the Outdoor Sales ened and Beauvillage had said goodbye to their Cygnuville guests. The Tofu kids along with their friends exchanged spirited farewells with the celebrities and it looked like a small friendship was forged between them. The shop-owners also said goodye to their Beauvillage collagues and were excited at what they have wittnessed. Even all the praise his citizens had for Beauvillage made little effect on Mayor La Jolie however. Smirking and chortling along with his son, he bid goodbye to Mayor Haveitall saying that their bet is still on and he has one month to fufill the promise. Johnatan however flared once more and foolishly cut his time down to **two weeks**. The said mayor now bowed his head in shame.

"I know, Angie. But he..."he began.

"He goaded you, Dad. You know La Jolie only wants to prove that Cygnuville is better and if you – The Mayor of Beauvillage will be opening his town´s celebration in a _clown costume_ and I do believe, he´ll openly announce who you are – that will be the best way to prove his point. After that it won´t matter what we do, or what we achieve but this will always stay in people´s mind. It´ll be everlasting shame upon Beauvillage."

Upon hearing his daughter´s reasoning, he felt even a deeper pang of shame for losing his temper. She was right of course.

"You know perfectly well, that we don´t have any contact with the NATMA or anything to present them with. AND you had to make this bet NOW, when we have a situation on our hands."Angie continued to rant.

Johnatan sighed deeply again, but thistime in annoyance rather than shame.

"Angie, we talked about this already..."

His daughter however turned towards him, a strong light in her eyes.

"Something HAS to be done about this, Dad! I´ve had a small chat with Lola and Lily and they reported, that the fangirl cat-fights are getting worse by the day. Rodney said as much too. Just now they´re only small fights in class that can be resolved by teachers, but mark my words pretty soon they´ll be turning into something, that will HAVE to be resolved by the police. In fact, I even heared that several girls were thinking of actually commiting some crime in order to be interrogated by the great Detective Wiseman."

Johnatan was a bit shocked to hear that. All the same he slapped his forehead and exhaled in a fatigued way.

"And just what do you propose I do, Angie? I can´t just _order_ them to forget about those two..."he asked reffering to the two young "superheroes" of Beauvillage – fully aware of the problem.

"Three, Dad."

Now Johnatan was clueless.

"Three?"

Eventhough his daughter´s back was turned as she searched for more medical supplies, he could feel her flare up – instantly he was reminded of his late, beloved Katherin.

"I´m talking about Rodney too, Dad."

"_Uh-oh. Here we go again._"thought Johnatan, sighing once more.

"I swear I ´ve lost count of how many girls flirted with him today. And NOT just my former classmates. Younger then me as well. Looks like the fight for Miles and Fred has emboldened Rodney´s fan-club too."she growled.

"Angie... I realize that you´re trying to protect your life-long friend..."

Angie was greatfull that she was still turned, so that her father couldn´t see the crimson blush on her cheeks.

"Not just him, Dad. I´m talking about Fred and Miles too... neighter of them are very happy with the situation. And I´m almost certain, that the parents of those girls also aren´t."

Johnatan scratched his head.

"I just have no idea what to do, Angie. I mean there IS an obvious solution to this."

Angie turned her head and fixed him with a hopefull look.

"All three respective gentlemen must find someone to date. That would get the fan-club off their back, knowing they don´t have a chance."Johnatan explained as though that were the obvious solution.

Catching a glimpse of his daughter´s cold glare he flinched.

"What did I say...?"he asked quietly, almost shaking.

"You know as well as I do Dad, that neighter of the three are interested in dating. Miles is interested in making money, Fred in stopping crime and Rodney in teaching kids. If they were interested in dating, they would´ve already be dating someone."said Angie with a low growl at the thought of her Rodney dating one of those... fangirls.

"Then there´s nothing for me to do."said Johnatan in a defeated voice.

"There is – find a solution to it and **fast**. Before the situation gets any worse."she said in a definite voice, that once more reminded him of his late wife as she exited the storage closet – medical supplies in her arms.

"Yes, sweetheart."said Johnatan in a defeated voice – he never could win out with eighter Katherine _or_ Angie.

"I think I´m going for a walk. A little fresh air would do me good."he said solemnly as Angie moved towards his office door.

"Take your time, Dad. Meanwhile I´ve got a _sensible_ person to take care of."

The emphasis she put on the word sensible made Johnatan cringe again. He tried to say something, but his daughter already snapped the office door. In pure defeat, he turned the opposite way and left down the stairs.

On the opposite side of the Mayor´s office door, Angie sighed to herself in annoyance.

"What´s gotten you so angry?"came a voice from the couch, positioned near the window.

The mere sound of Rodney´s voice was enough to her cool down. She turned towards him and fixed him with a radiant smile.

"Nothing Rodney. Its just that Dad and I had a chat about the _situation_."

Rodney, laying on the couch fixed her with a look of understanding. He wasn´t finding the renewed interest of the female population any more pleasing than her. Though he always had the female population of Beauvillage going after him eversince he was 17 and Ezekiel left the town. Things were tamer than ussual lately, but indeed the fan-girl movement for Michael Miles and Frederick Wiseman had gotten _his_ fan-girl movement out of its state of hybernation. And like any creature waking from its hybernation – this one was really, _really_ hungry.

"And... have you reached some sort of a resolution?"he asked turning around to see her better.

She closed her eyes, sighed and started to walk with the medical supplies in her arms.

"No... Pop says, that there´s not much he can..."

"ANGIE, WATCH OUT FOR THAT..."exclaimed Rodney, but too late.

With her eyes closed, Angie failed to see, that she was walking into a small cofee-table, that was left there as La Jolie and her father exited the office. With a small yelp, Angie tripped over, knocking over the table and sending herself flying over it, medical supplies flying all across the room as she fell onto the floor in a heap with the coffee mugs falling all over the place and several of them hitting her.

"...coffee-table."finished Rodney sighing to himself as he got off the couch and hurried towards her.

"Ow... that sure hurt."moaned Angie as Rodney was trying to help her get back up.

"There, there... I´m sure its nothing – here... let me have a look."he said with a kind smile and gently picked her up into his arms and proceeded to carry her bridal-style to the couch he was occupying.

As he carried her, Angie fought the urge to sigh in absolute contentment not even registering the pain from the bumps and bruises she sustained in the fall. This was exactly the way, he always carried her since they were kids – whenever she got hurt, which was pretty often. From what both she and Rodney heared, her mother also used to have an extraordinary ammount of accidents and now she along with her cousin Frederick are carrying on that tradition. They were fairly swift healers though, which Rodney supposed was a good thing. He remembered too, the time when he was a 15 year old teenager and he carried the 5 year old girl in his arms in much the same way back in Mrs Longline´s garden straight after Angie had a nasty bike accident. In fact, he suspected that she cringed to him exactly then as she did now – seeking warmth and comfort from her pain. Laying her ever-so gently on the couch, Rodney looked her over up and down and registered numerous briuses and bumps along with coffee stains from the spilled mugs of coffee and wine from wine-glasses. Luckily no cuts were present. He sighed to himself and picked up the medical supplies she brought in and quickly proceeded to treat her bruised knee, applying ointment to it.

"Just a few bumps and bruises that´s all. I´ll have it fixed in no time."he said gently as she fixed her sight on him.

Sighing to herself, she allowed an affectionate and loving smile grace her lips.

"I wanted to be the one to nurse you to health for once."

Rodney chuckled to himself as he applied the bandage and proceeded to work on her other knee.

"You´re such a little klutz, you know that?"he asked the old and familiar question, affectionately as he reached over to carress her blushing cheek.

At the contact, Angie shuddered in obvious pleasure, wishing that hand would remain on its place for a bit longer. But Rodney apparently took no note of this and returned to his work.

"Don´t worry about me... I´ll be just fine. By the way... how does your Dad intend on solving that little bet, he had gotten himself into?"he asked as though nothing was happening.

"I have no idea. But he´d better think of something fast. Or its the clown-suit for him."replied Angie but decided to leave that lying for the moment.

Not when she felt Rodney´s soft hands on her injured knee, funnily enough she felt no pain from it whatsoever.

"_Oh, if I have my way... those hands will take care of me forever._"she thought dreamily as she allowed herself to get lost in pleasure.

...

The Mayor´s office was not the only place in Beauvillage where a healing process was going on. In the Tofu household, the girls were in separate rooms of the house taking care of the boys.

"Sheesh, Phil... how is it, that you and Chichi always get into trouble like that."commented Lily as she applied a cooling cream on the right side of his forehead in the living room of the Tofu house.

"At least you´ve got some new material for the sequel book."joked Phil, wincing a bit at the cream.

"Stop being a baby, _Philip_. Keep _still_."commanded Lily as she proceeded to rub the cream on the spot, where a hot frying pan from a food stand, that flew from one of the now broken stands and hit his in the head, burning the side of his forehead in the process. Phil remained absolutely still, but his cheeks were growing redder and a small content smile was growing on his face. He closed his eyes as he felt the sting from the burn go away thanks to Mom Tofu´s homemade cooling cream. But also, he had to surpress a moan – Lily´s gentle touch was being almost too good – once more, he felt the wierd feeling he was getting around his older friend.

"I swear, that you two would provide me with material for a hundred books. Anyway, I believe that girl from the ninth grade was really gratefull, that you took the blow for her."noted Lily.

Indeed the long-haired girl from a class above him, whom he knew by sight but not by aquaitance - since she moved to Beauvillage only a year ago, WAS in line of fire and Phil indeed threw himself into the frying pan´s way – something which earned him admiring looks from the ninth-grade girls.

Phil´s eyes snapped open and he blushed heavily at what he heared.

"I... I... didn´t notice."he said quietly, moving his blushing face away from Lily.

Lily however got a sly look and ruffled his hair.

"Aww... is our little-guy getting a crush?"she teased.

Phil´s blush intensified, but whether from the contact or embarressment he wasn´t sure.

"No way. Come on, Lil... I don´t even know her..."

"Why not _get_ to know her then?"suggested Lily brightly as she applied the bandage to his forehead.

"I´m not sure, Lil... I mean..."Phil struggled with the words, but indeed wouldn´t mind to get to know her.

"Nonsence, Philip. Afterall you saved her life from an hot airborn frying-pan. I´m sure she´d very much like to get to know her hero."said Lily dramaticly, ending with a smile.

Phil quirked an eyebrow – a glint of hope in his light brown eyes.

"You really think I have a chance?"he asked in small wonder, as Lily proceeded to work on his bruised elbow.

Smiling ever-so gently at her friend, she gave him an affectionate kiss on his blushing cheek.

"I _know_ you do, little-guy."

...

In Lola´s room, Billy was lying on her bed resting his aching head on her pillows. Though when he ussually lay there, he would feel great and inhaling Lola´s sweet smell that came from her sheets. Right now however, he was almost shaking in fear - almost afraid of the moment his girlfriend comes trough the door. He had a very good reason for it too. Over the course of the fight, he helped the policemen apprehand three burglars. Unfortunately he kinda underestimated one of them, the man being twice as large as he was and he threw him into one of the stands, where he bumped his head badly. Lola instantly let out a scream and dispite the ongoing fight rushed to him. Once relieved that he was alright and the situation calmed down, Lola gave him a "_Wait ´till we get home_" look, that brought chill to his bones. That meant only one thing, he was about to get a scolding of a _lifetime_. And coming from Lola, it was no laughing matter. He was sometimes at the recieving end of Lola´s scoldings and he was completly sure, that even his _mother_ wasn´t able to scold him like **that**. Indeed Beth often times left the task to Lola, confident that his girlfriend´s anger had a deeper effect on him – sometimes he got the feeling that the two had _agreed_ upon this. He was still thinking about what happened with Jaq La Jolie. He would´ve shook his head if it wasn´t throbbing so badly. The pompous, stuck-up and spoiled pretty-boy got on his every single nerve, yet he refrained from saying anything. Lily however wasn´t so generous. Though she blew her top, Billy was scarcely blaming her. And of course he supported her outburst whole-heartedly. On the other hand, he _was_ a bit surprised that Mayor Haveitall blew his top – since his childhood he always seen the mayor as a calm, even a bit mischievous man at times – never once did he see such rage on his face. He wondered how in the world is he expecting to win the bet he made with his Cygnuvillian collague. His thoughts were interupted by the sound of Lola´s bedroom door opened and in came his girlfriend, medical supplies in one hand and a ice-bag in the other.

"Good thing, Buba always keeps ice in the freezer."she mumbled to herself as she used her leg to close the door.

Billy gulped as she turned to him and judged by the fierce look on her face, that her rage hadn´t subsided one bit.

"L...Lola, sweetheart..."he began, but cringed at the glare Lola shot him.

"Don´t "Lola sweetheart" _me_, **William Hubbub**! What in the _world_ posessed you to run into a fight like that?!"she demanded now fully letting her rage out.

Billy gulped again. Lola only used his full name when she was completly furious with him and he was slowly getting the feeling, that she was _never_ so angry with him ever before. He struggled to find a responce, even as Lola applied the ice-bag to his throbbing head.

"I... I only wanted to help, Lola. That´s all I swear. Phil and Chichi also went in there to do the same."

He instantly knew, the took the entire process of explaining himself completly the wrong way, for Lola´s eyes flashed dangerously.

"Don´t even _speak_ of those two. Phil will get a get a scolding from his mother and **I** will deal with that _knuckle-head_ once April is finished patching him up. But I´m surprised at _you_! I mean, I kinda expected those two idiots running into danger like that, but YOU?! Have you any idea, what those burglars could´ve done to you?! You saw that last one with the gun and others fought with whatever they had in their hands? What if something worse happened?! HAVE YOU ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?!"she finished, her voice rising to its very top, her eyes watering by tears which were a mixture of anger and worry.

Billy instantly rose up in bed, the ice-bag falling from his head. With the absence of the cool ice-bag, his head throbbed violently again, but he gave it no thought. He even had no time to feel sorry for Chichi and Phil as he proceeded to gather his girlfriend, who was shaking from anger into his arms. Lola was still in the embrace for a while, but soon enough brought her arms around him and melted into the embrace.

"I know what this is about, Billy... I chaught the look you flashed at Jaq when we got back from that damaged stand – you were _jealous_, William Hubbub and you can´t deny it."she mumbled in the embrace, but knew very well that Billy heared every single word judging by the heavy sigh she felt him take.

"All right. You´re right. That was definitely half of the reason, the other half was that I really wanted to help."he admitted.

"You wanted to prove, that you´re better than Jaq. How can you be so bull-headed?!"she asked, punching his chest lightly for emphasis.

"Look, Lola... I... I heared about him, then saw him speak to you and Lily... and when I saw him cuddle up to you... I... felt threatened."he admitted, knowing that the truth would be the only way to make this right.

His theory was confirmed when he felt Lola laugh slightly.

"You really _are_ a hard-case, Billy. How could you feel threatened by someone like _him_?! Did you think, that I would throw away our relationship for some Cygnuvillian pretty-boy?"

Billy sighed and blushed heavily.

"Well... I... _no_, I didn´t. But still... I can´t help but worry about our relationship, Lola. I mean eversince I´ve got together with you, I´m the happiest dude in Beauvillage. I can´t even express how happy you make me, Lola sweetie. I never want to lose that... I never want to lose _you_... I..."he was cut off by Lola´s lips.

Lola was kissing him with as much passion as she could possibly muster. Closing his eyes, he returned the kiss with equal passion, his arms squeezing her closer. They proceeded to hold eachother close long after the kiss ended, Lola resting her head on his chest, her eyes closed as she savoured the feeling of Billy´s fingers running trough her hair – her anger completly subsiding from the moment Billy explained himself.

"You have nothing to worry about, my love."she said with a smile, though not bothering to move from the position they were in.

"I´ve wanted you since we were 12 years old. And now that I have you, I´ll never want to let you go. I love _you_... and I´ll never want _anyone_ else."she confessed with the same passion that was present in their kiss.

"Lola..."breathed Billy and instantly started to assault the top of her head with loving kisses.

Suddenly however, his head gave a yet another painfull throbb. Lola felt him wince in pain and instantly broke the embrace.

"All right, that´s enough. You´re still injured and its time someone did something about it. On the bed, _now_."she commanded, pointing to her bed with her finger but with an affectionate smile.

Holding his throbbing head, he smiled back gently.

"Yes, my love."

Obediently he lay back on the bed and placed the ice-bag on his head. Lola at once took the medical supplies and started to work on Billy´s bruises. After applying the herb ointment made by Buba and Mom, she placed a bandage on each and on each treated place, she aded a loving kiss for "better healing".

"Please Lola, don´t be too hard on Chichi once we get downside. He meant well afterall."he pleaded, wanting to soften the blow Lola´s younger brother was very likely to recieve from her.

Lola rolled her eyes and sighed in exaspiration.

"Come on, Billy. That little idiot has to learn, that he´s no superhero. I think that since the summer he had in Megacity, he´s been getting way too active in things like that."

"He´s smart, Lola. He know´s what he can and can´t do."reasoned Billy fairly.

Lola sighed, but nodded – agreeing with that statement, though begrudgingly.

"All the same... I´m... scared for him. He´s my baby brother, Billy. I don´t want to see him end up somewhere in the hospital... or worse..."she said, remembering the time when Chichi fainted from exhaustion and ended up being treated at home by April´s father – remembering the chilling feeling of fear at the thought of something happening to him.

"Don´t worry. As I said, he´s smart. And always... he has _us_ to help him whenever he needs."said Billy gently, placing his left hand on her cheek and carressing it with gentle care.

Lola giggled to herself as her hand covered Billy´s and she moved closer to him.

"Point taken."she agreed and lay on the bed next to her beloved boyfriend.

"But he´s _still_ gonna get it for this."she added before once more locking her lips with Billy´s.

Little did they know, that Chichi was already getting his share of well chosen words.

...

Phil and Lily were just joking in the living room when a loud shriek ran trough the Tofu house.

"CHICHI TOFU, YOU GET BACK HERE _THIS INSTANT_! I´M NOT TROUGH WITH YOU YET!"

The pair looked at eachother. That was definitely April´s voice.

"Wanna make a bet?!"rang Chichi´s voice, which was full of panic.

A few seconds later, Chichi Tofu ran into the living room as though running for his life, diving behind the sofa where Phil and Lily sat. The two looked over the sofa at him.

"Jeez... now I know, how grandpa Noah feels. Guys help me!"he asked desperately.

Lily was instantly overcome with a fit of giggles and even Phil was sporting a smug smile.

"What´s up, Chichi? _Lady_-troubles?"he asked slyly.

Chichi fixed his best friend a glare.

"Very funny! I´m in a situation here."he said before cringing in pain.

April wasn´t able to fully patch him up before he was unable to listen to her scolding anymore and did exactly what his grandfather always did in situations like this – run for dear life.

"CHICHI! WHERE ARE YOU?!"came April´s voice and a second later a very angry April entered the living room.

Her glaring eyes went trough the entire living room, settling on her other two friends.

"You haven´t seen Chichi, guys?"

Phil and Lily chanced a small look at eachother. Deciding at once, that they couldn´t do THAT to him, they shook their heads.

"No, April. We haven´t the slightest idea, where he could be."said Phil in a convincing voice.

"Yeah. We _definitely_ didn´t see him."nodded Lily.

April gave out a snarl of exaspiration.

"When I get my hands on him...!"she said turning and making her way out of the living room.

Chichi quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly however something landed on his head. He tensed, knowing exactly what it is.

"Cracker, don´t..."he tried saying but too little, too late.

A loud crow made April turn around and fix her sight on the sofa. And another... and another.

"Cracker! I´m gonna strangle you!"exclaimed Chichi, exposing himself from his hiding place as he tried to grab the jumping rooster, which was evading capture while announcing Chichi´s position.

As Chichi chaught Cracker in both of his arms, he exposed himself fully – lying on the floor besides the sofa. From the ground he fixed his sights on the living-room enterance and cringed at the devious look on April´s face.

"Good boy, Cracker. I´ll take it from here."she said in an extremely sweet voice.

"Cracker, you traitor!"exclaimed Chichi as he picked himself up, threw Cracker aside and made another dash towards the garden door as April followed in a dash of her own.

Cracker flew between Phil and Lily and looking very proud of himself watched the ongoing chase, even as Lily was once more overcome by giggles.

"Cracker, you little Judas."said Phil shaking his head – now feeling sorry for his best friend.

"Chichi! Get back here!"yelled April hot on his heels.

"Forget it, April!"Chichi yelled back determined to get as far away from her as possible.

Chichi reached the door leading to the yard. Smirking to himself he opened them. However, that smirk once more turned into terror. Standing there were Buba, Mom, Curly and Suzie – all four of them glaring him.

"I think its time we had a little talk, little seedling."said Mom a rare - stern note in her voice.

Gulping, Chichi turned and dashed back into the house, using his agility to evade April, who barely registered him changing direction. Coming to a stop by the two women, she turned sharply.

"I´m not giving up _that_ easily!"she exclaimed before dashing back into the house, Curly and Suzie on her heels.

Chichi made his way to the kitchen and was determined to make his way into his room, where he could lock himself in. However the staircase was occupied by Billy and Lola, who were just coming down.

"Sis... you gotta help me... April, Mom and Buba are..."he tried to explain, before he chaught the look on Lola´s face.

"Oh, no you don´t brother _dearest_. You´re so eager to play the hero, face THIS like one."she said sternly and advanced on him.

"Sorry Chichi."mouthed Billy giving him an apologetic look.

Just then the kitchen door was passed by April, Mom, Buba and the three animals.

"I´m not trough with you yet, Chichi Tofu!"exclaimed April.

"Running is pointless, Chichi."nodded Buba, crossing her arms.

"She´s right, my stray sage-leaf."said Mom in a very stern voice of her own.

Turning towards the door, he dashed again thistime for the front door, knowing one place where he could hide and have some peace – the Hidehole.

"Suzie, Curly – CATCH!"commanded Lola savagely and without hesitation the goat and sheep started after the youngest Tofu as he ran out the front door.

The entire ordeal was watched by Lily and Phil who made no attampt to move from their places.

"Woah, Chichi´s really getting it. Judging by Billy´s meek look, he must´ve got it too. Am I the only one who didn´t get a scolding?"wondered Phil as he watched the ordeal sitting close to Lily, since Cracker also started after Chichi.

"Guess so."shrugged Lily.

Phil fixed her with a thankfull smile.

"I´m so happy _you_ didn´t give me one, Lil."

Lily smiled back sweetly.

"Oh, there was no _need_ to, Philip. You´ll get one as soon as you get home."she said in a sugary voice.

Phil instantly looked horrified, knowing _exactly_ whom she meant.

"Oh no! _Mom_!"he moaned in painfull realization, already picturing his mother´s scolding.

Instinctivelly he threw his arms around Lily and snuggled towards her for comfort, shaking like mad even as Lily smiled, brought her arms around him and started to stroke his hair to calm him down, though in fact she was greatly enjoying this.

"Ca... can I sleep over at your place tonight, Lil?"he asked childishly, sending her into a yet another fit of giggles.

"I´m afraid, you´ll only make things worse for yourself if you do, Phil. I wouldn´t be surprised if your Mom would come to our house and drag you back home by the ear. I think you should just face it and be done with it."

Phil shook his head in the embrace.

"No! You can´t send me there... I´m too young to die..."he whined like a 5 year old kid.

Finding this highly humorous and adorable, Lily giggled again.

"Awww... my little chicken."she teased affectionately.

Meanwhile Chichi made his way out of the house, the animals gaining on him.

"I´d better lock myself in the Hole, ´till the heat´s off."he mumbled to himself as he ran, his sights over his back on the pursuing animals.

However he wasn´t looking where he was going and as he made his way out of the main gate, he hit into something hard. Or rather someone, sending both himself and the person to the ground. As he tried to pull himself from the person, Curly and Suzie jumped on his back and pinned him to the ground. Cracker landing on the two, started to crow loudly for the entire street to hear. Soon enough, came the footsteps of April, Lola, Mom and Buba.

"Damn it, get them off me!"exclaimed Chichi.

"Only if you accept your punishment."said Lola sternly.

"No..."moaned Chichi, but the three animals were getting too heavy.

"You have no other choice."said Buba.

"They´re right, little trapped chimpmunk."nodded Mom calmly.

"Come on... it won´t _hurt_, Chichi honey-bun."said April in a sugar-sweet voice.

Chichi gritted his teeth, knowing that defeat is inevitable.

"Alright... fine... I give... just get them off me... and April... _when_ are you going to _stop_ calling me that?!"

April smiled in a radiant way.

"Neveeeer."she sing-songed as Chichi moaned under the weight.

With a simple clap of Mom´s hands the three animals jumped off Chichi and took their place at her side obediently.

"Good work you three."said April scratching both Curly and Suzie.

However Chichi was getting up from the ground with a stream of apologies to the person he ran into. Everyone gasped as they saw, just **who** did Chichi run into.

"Mayor Haveitall!"

...

Half an hour later, the run-over mayor had recovered with some help from the Tofus and Buba´s Nettle tea. With the small distraction behind them, Mom and Buba could return to the original plan. As soon as the Outdoor Sales were officially over, the neighbours were invited to a small garden party in the Tofu´s yard, hosted by Mom and Beth who took up to organizing parties in the light of just such occasions. The mayor also agreed on staying, since he desperately needed some way to get his mind off his troubles. In no time at all the Spocks, Robinses, Bee and several others came in.

"PHILIP CONNERS! WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!"

Phil went into a state of panic the moment he heared his mother´s voice as he and his friends were bringing the various food into the yard. Chichi and Billy shot him a sorry look, knowing that the scoldings they recieved were _nothing_ to what Phil was about to get.

Knowing that his mother would be near them seconds later, Phil quickly passed the plate of food onto Curly and hid himself behind Lily.

"Hiding behind a girl´s skirt, Phil? Some hero _you_ are."teased April with a giggle.

Before any of the three boys could retort, Natalie Conners came from the house into the yard, ice-cold rage visible on her face and her husband standing behind her, the look on his face a mixture of fright at his wife´s rage and worry for his son´s continued existence. Her eyes flashing, she wasted no time in covering the distance between them even as Matthew Conners started to apologize to Buba. The teens all froze, knowing that an angry Mrs Conners was not something to be messed with. She scanned all of them and instantly moved towards Lily, who was the only one not intimidated by Phil´s angry mother.

"Do you mind, Lily?"she asked calmly before she reached behind her.

With a loud yelp Phil was dragged from behind Lily by his ear.

"Owww! Moooom!"he yelped as she dragged him painfully to her.

"I knew you´d be hiding there, Philip. Now... yould you care explaining to me WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU DOING DOWNTOWN?!"

"Moooom! I... I was trying to help... that´s all I swear..."exclaimed Phil in pure pain as she pulled on his ear again.

"Natalie, sweetie... Phil´s right. He was doing an admirable thing..."said his father, coming to his son´s rescue.

"BY PLACING HIS SAFETY AT RISK LIKE THAT?! WHAT´S ADMIRABLE ABOUT THAT?!"yelled Natalie, her glare shifting between her husband and son, both of whom cringed in fear.

"No it _was_ admirable, Mrs Conners."piped up Lily.

Everyone turned towards her, but Lily just stood there calmly looking Mrs Conners straight in the eye, even the mayor who came up to them.

"He saved several people from the objects the burglars threw around. One of the girls in the crowd would´ve gotten hit by a hot frying-pan if he hadn´t been there. Also he helped the police capture two burglars. He acted much braver than any of the boys older than him did. Please don´t be so hard on him."

Natalie raised an eyebrow at her as though measuring her up, but Lily stood her ground quietly as Buba, Mom and Beth came closer.

"She´s absolutely right. Dear mothers... I also ask you not to be so hard on the boys. They presented something that even our guests from Cygnuville were admiring. You should instead be proud to have such bright and brave sons."said Mayor Haveitall in earnestness.

Beth, Mom and Natalie shared a look and for a few seconds they pondered about it.

"What d´you think?"asked Natalie uncertainly.

"I guess."nodded Beth.

"Agreed."smiled Mom.

Though agreeing they kept their gazes at eachother for a while longer as though coming to a silent agreement. They even nodded to eachother.

"Ouch! Mooom!"whined Phil attracting attention to himself.

The three spun their heads toward him and instantly realized, that Natalie was still holding her son´s ear.

"Oh... sorry, sweetie."she said in a honeyed voice, as she released his ear and he instantly grasped it moving closer to Lily.

"See, Phil. That wasn´t so bad."she said as she rubbed his back in a comforting way.

"I beg to differ, Lil."he said still in pain.

"You should be gratefull to have such a friend, Philip."said Natalie looking at the pair, flashing Lily an aprooving look.

"Believe me, Mom. I am."said Phil looking up at Lily with a smile, as she flashed him a wink.

The mayor´s plea indeed seemed to be the boys´ saving grace. From that moment it looked like everything was forgotten and the party has started. Even the mayor was having fun, laughing at the recounted tale he shared with Matthew Conners about Balthazar Bunglewood. The party gained on a few more digrees as Miles came around, overjoyed completly as he went to set his stuff down in Chichi´s room.

"Wow... he must´ve made a lot."breathed Chichi under his breath.

"You´re not kidding. I haven´t seen him so happy in weeks."nodded Lola as she took some fruit and put it in her mouth.

"Well... he deserves it for all the help he gave Beauvillage."said Mayor Haveitall, who was sitting between Lola and Matthew and smiled as Michael Miles came down into the yard.

Phil and Lily, who sat on the opposite side of the table, shared a look and snickered quietly knowing just what the Mayor had meant. Also both of them had their suspitions, that the help in making an attraction for the Cygnuvillan guests was somehow agreed upon by the two men. And knowing Miles, he had to gain something from it...

"Yo, guys. Wassup?"asked Miles appearing behind Phil and Lily, grinning warmly.

Lily felt a deep blush grace her cheeks as she felt Miles´ arm around her shoulders as he peeked from between her and Phil. Miles took no notice of this as he peered brightly at the little gathering.

"We were just talking about you Miles. That was a very brave thing you did downtown."commented Beth, who was sitting next to Natalie Conners, who nodded smilingly.

The other females both young and old nodded fervently and Miles blushed while grinning sheepishly.

"Cool, you praise Miles for playing the hero and _we_ got a scolding."muttered Chichi shaking his head as April who was sitting next to him glowered at him.

"_That´s_ different Chichi! **He** knows what he´s doing."replied April sternly, quietly enough for only him to hear.

Chichi snorted to himself as he rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."he muttered but left it at that, not wanting to press his luck.

"Anyway, Mayor Have-man... Trashbin and Weedpatch send their thanks for your assistance with our little show."

The mayor blushed a bit as every face turned to him. Looks like the suspitions in the mayor having a hand with the Grand Show of the trio were correct.

"My pleasure, dear boy... afterall I´m always glad to help."Johnatan replied sheepishly.

"The plan to impress the Cygnuvillians along with Mayor La Jolie went very well then."commented Lola, eying the mayor slyly.

The mayor´s blush increased.

"I have no idea what you´re talking about, Lola dear..."he replied, but his still increacing blush suggested otherwise.

"And of course, _you_ had done so without _any_ thought of reward and gained _nothing_ from this..."said Lola, narrowing her eyes at Miles, who kept his face completly neutral.

"Of course, Lola... I´m a thoughtfull and helpfull guy afterall."he said fairly.

Lily instantly fell into a fit of giggles and even the other occupants at the table snickered.

"By the way, Mayor... what about that bet you´ve made with Mayor La Jolie?"asked April in evident curiosity.

The mayor´s face now fell.

"Don´t mention that unfortunate thing to me, my dear."he said sadly.

The adults looked curiously, unknowing about this particular part of the day and even the other teens, who knew about it were looking at the Mayor in puzzlement.

"What have you planned for our town to make it to the National television program?"asked Phil in equal curiosity, that echoed troughout the table.

Mayor bowed his head in defeat and after a long sigh he replied.

"I have no idea. I´ve absolutely no idea what to do to top that pompous collague of mine. I try to think of some idea, but right now I´m drawing a blank."

A long wave of silence endured after the mayor finished recounting the entire tale to them. Many of the adults excluding Mom were outraged about some La Jolie´s comments about Beauvillage and in the light of the bet, all of them were feeling very sympathetic towards their mayor.

"There there, Johnatan... we´ll help you with this somehow..."said Buba, patting his hand in a consoling way – they have been on very good terms after Buba helped him after the Aquapark incident years ago, right after Chichi pulled him out of the polluted water – that was pretty much the start of the Mayor´s friendship with the Tofu family. Over the course of the following years, the mayor became very much aqquainted with each Tofu and is about the only person in Beauvillage, who adresses Buba by her first name.

Johnatan smiled.

"If only that were so easy, Suzan... However there´s several problems with it... a contest, sure... but what kind and most importaintly... how in the world would I be able to get it on National Television."

"That´s no problem, Mayor Have-man."exclaimed Miles and everyone turned a shocked look on him.

Chichi and Phil however brightened, knowing what Miles thoght.

"Trashbin!"exclaimed Chichi.

"That´s right, he´s the son of the NATMA director – there IS a way to get some show in the tube."nodded Phil.

"But what kind of a show? This is the National Television we´re talking about. They won´t accept anything just like that. It has to be good and interesting."said Lola, shaking her head in skepticism.

"Come on, Lola. Who doesn´t love a good contest?"defended Miles much to the nods of the adults.

"That´s right. A nice contest would cetrainly offer something that the National Television hadn´t seen in a while in the wake of all those reality-shows the public insists on looking at."nodded Alexander Robins, who was very critical of the nowaday National program on TV.

"Exactly. I´m sure that the people would welcome a nice little change."his wife Julia agreed.

The mayor was stricken aback by their encouragement, but was slowly gaining hope.

"But... but what kind of a contest?"he asked.

"A cooking contest!"exclaimed Beth.

"A quiz contest."suggested Matthew.

"A race."piped up Billy with enthusiasm.

"A talent contest."said April with a big smile.

"A beauty contest?"asked Miles and all the faces once more spun to him.

Blushing slightly he grinned.

"Come on, guys. Who doesn´t love a nice little beauty contest. Y´know like fashion models and all... d´you have any idea how much _greed_ goes down on all those Miss contests?

Bee stood up and whooped – completly overjoyed.

"What an idea, Miles. We can show the entire nation, that our girls are the prettiest in the universe."

The group shared a laugh – even the mayor included.

"Excellent idea, Bee. We can show everyone how pretty, healthy and natural beauty can be."nodded Mom, embracing her friend and doing a small happy-dance.

"No offence you two... but I´m not sure a show of beauty would do much to impress Mayor La Jolie."commented Lola with a small smile.

"Who cares, Lola? From what we´ve seen, _nothing_ would impress him."countered Phil, scowling a bit at the thought of the pompous Cygnuville mayor.

"Yeah. The bet was only, that a Beauvillage show will appear on the National TV. Who cares whether it´ll impress him or not."said April folding her arms in complete support of the Beauvillage Mayor.

"No guys. There´s also the thing about raising Beauvillage´s profile. The biggest way to show La Jolie our Mayor´s victory would be making a show, that would surpass any other showed in the National TV."said Chichi before his eyes flew open and he went an all-familiar transe, that everyone at the table knew very well by now.

The adults save for Mom, who sighed in mild-exaspiration smiled brightly as the Beauvillage Genius-boy´s brain went into full mode.

"There he goes again. I can positively _hear_ his brain working."muttered Dr Robert Spock happily.

"Is _this_ what you see in him, April?"asked Olivia slyly, her gaze on her daughter.

April smiled broadly at her mom, while grasping Chichi´s arm with both her arms an snuggled closer to him – Chichi being too preoccupied by his thoughts to notice.

"ONE of those things, Mom."

Chichi took a few more moments before coming into focus once more.

"What d´you think of, Genius-boy?"asked Miles, heavily awaiting the answer.

Chichi took one grin before fixing his sights on the Mayor.

"How about having a contest in our _own_ way? Y´know - Beauvillage style! A combination of all those you mentioned all grouped into one. In short a special contest of both beauty, style and talent."

Chichi´s suggestion lingered for a moment as the others went over it.

"You mean an activity contest, Chichi? But the budget for such things would be costly."remarked the mayor, shuddering a bit at the prospect.

"Not neccesarily, mayor. Afterall, if its gonna be a mix, the activities could be done by us – everyone puts in what they specialize in... that would reduce the costs."piped up Lola, catching on to her brother´s suggestion.

There was a wave of general agreement from most at the table. The mayor´s expression was brightening by the second. Already an idea coming to his head.

"My dear friends... I am gratefull beyond words that you agree on helping me... I am happy to know that I can count on you."

"Of course you can Mayor Have-man!"exclaimed Miles giving him a thumbs-up and all the others nodded fervently too.

All the others nodded smilingly. The mayor laughed in an all-happy way.

"In that case, I will immediately call a meeting at Town Hall."he said before standing up from the table much to the confusion of everyone.

"With your help, Mayor La Jolie will suffer an all-consuming defeat."

...

A few hours later, the sun was setting down upon Beauvillage and a massive ammount of people was present at Town Hall Square. In fact, nearly everyone in Beauvillage seemed to be present. Mayor Haveitall stepped up to his podium, happy that so many people came – more than he expected. Smiling to himself he cleared his throat.

"My dear Beauvillagers, as you well know the guests from Cygnuville have enjoyed themselfs greatly. And follwing a most spirited conversation with their mayor I have gotten the most incredible idea. Beauvillage will play host to its very own talent-beauty contest, which will be broadcasted by the _National Television_."

A large applause ran troughout the Square. Already, Lola, Lily and the others standing near the podium registered a number of teenage girls overjoying at the prospect as the mayor went on.

"This contest will be held for young ladies from the ages 17 to 25. This will be a contest of skill, beauty and talent. It will be judged by our humble town´s most eligible bachelours – Michael Miles, Frederick Wiseman and Rodney Philips."

An even larger wave of applause rang out – the teenage girls dominating on all scales.

"And before anyone asks for the prizes, I have the prize most of you happy little ladies would kill for."

The crowd all calmed down and scarcely breathed as they watched the mayor.

"The prize... since I understand there is a terrifying battle going on among you ladies, I have decided to make this battle official."

Everyone, the Tofus and their friends included looked confusedly at the mayor. Wiseman, the brotherhood, Angie, Rodney and even Miles himself looked positively puzzled.

"Only **one** can win. The lady will be crowned _Miss Beauvillage_."

Applause rang once more, but the mayor having a small mischievous spark in his eyes signalled for quiet.

"And Miss Beauvillage will win a most _exclusive_ prize - **A date... with the judge of her choosing.**"

The families standing to the podium fixed the mayor a shocked look while the three respective gentlemen looked ready to faint even as the girl´s applause ran at its peak – in fact the people in _Megacity_ must´ve heared this collective squeal of transcendent joy.

Mayor Johnatan Haveitall took no note of this or even his daughter´s infuriated look – which looked very murderous indeed - and smiled broadly at the cheering girls in the crowd.

"The sighning in will be tommorow and the day after – the **Miss Beauvillage** Contest will begin."

...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The Mayor´s announcement of the contest met with an amazing interest from its citizens and before the next day arrived nearly everyone in Beauvillage was talking about the event. The comments variated – most, especially fathers were scrowling at the mayor´s controversional decidion about the main (and only) prize. Some immediately commented, that it was a bad decidion, given Rodney Philips´ age. Since the contest age limits were from 17 to 25, it seemed to them slightly perverse, that Rodney – a 35 year old man should even be in the contest, let alone a judge which may be potentionally chosen for a date with one of their daughters. The mayor jovially shrugged it off and declared that "There is NO age limit in love." – not noticing his own daughter´s murderous look. Had it not been the fact, that Rodney Philips was a well known quantity among the Beauvillage population, the various parents would´ve opposed the idea out of hand. However, Rodney´s fan-club at once voiced their appretiation for the arrangement. With Michael Miles and Detective Wiseman it was pretty much the same with their own fan-clubs – in some cases the annoyance of many fathers, boys and even boyfriends, who seemed to take this as a threat. In any case in mere minutes following the Mayor´s announcement it was clear, that the Miss Beauvillage contest will have no need to worry about the contestants. The fact, that it was to be broadcasted on National TV was another thing and many of the shopowners and craftsmen offered their help and support – Mr Workalot came to the mayor almost instantly, offering whatever servise the contest should need. Immediately following was Natalie Conners and even Beth came straight after that. Chichi, Lola, Billy, Lily, April along with Mom and Buba were just standing near the stage completly petrified with shock at the Mayor´s machinations. Similary stunned were the three would-be judges and Angie was still glaring her father – positively shaking from rage.

Completly overjoyed, the Mayor ushered all of them into his office. The three gentlemen at once voiced their disaprooval at the situation they have been thrown into. At once, the mayor started to plead with them, that they would do this for Beauvillage.

"You´d be surprised with how well will this contest turn out. So please..."he pleaded.

Sharing a glance, Wiseman and Rodney relented and agreed. Miles however was proving very hard to persuade. Sulking like a little child he sat in defiance straight on the floor of the office, folded his arms and refused to listen to anything which was said – the gesture gaining much aprooval from both Lola and Lily. Though several – the Mayor, Beth, Mom, Bee, even Buba – tried desperately to persuade him Miles was adamant, even when Wiseman threatened to place him under arrest for "incooperative behaveour". However down on his knees Mayor Haveitall played on the one thing that apparently made Michael Miles tick. He offered to pass on to him every single cent the National Television was offering in return for the program – thinking that it won´t ammount to much anyway. THIS had the intended effect, grasping his hand and shaking it vigorously he exclaimed "Well, why didn´t you say so in the first place, Mayor – Man?! Judge Milesey at your servise."

This prompted an exaspirated Lola to smack her forehead while Lily sighed in mild-annoyance. The exchange in the office culminated in Mayor Haveitall asking the mothers for permission to have Chichi, Phil and Billy help with the organization of the event – promising the boys a reward for all their help – something they sincirelly doubted, but agreed on regardless. In fact, Chichi later on said that he only agreed upon this as not to attract any attention to his work in the Hidehole – which meant, that he could use the contest as an excuse. The gang decided to have a yet another sleepover in the Tofu house in the wake of the news and the continued garden - party. Though thistime, the girls were bunked up in Lola´s room discussing everything fervently and the boys bunked in Chichi´s room doing pretty much the same.

Lola, Lily and April wasted no time in musing about every single detail of the contest... well more precicely its contestants. It was clear to all three, that most of the girls in Beauvillage High would be attending and they all felt sickened at the thought of ANY of them dating Miles. Though as April pointed out, it was only ONE date.

"Easy for you to say, April..."remarked Lily, glaring her a bit.

"How would _you_ feel if that was CHICHI in his place?"

April gasped in revelation and her face instantly darkened at the thought.

"See?"asked Lily as though proving her point.

However the reference didn´t go unnoticed by her best friend.

"Hold your horses, Lily. You´re not in love with Miles."commented Lola taking a good, long look at her best friend, who´s cheeks were turning slightly red.

"_Are_ you?"asked Lola in astonishment and mild-horror.

Lily swiftly shook her head.

"Of course not. Don´t be silly."she said while laughing a laugh, that was very unlike her own.

Though April laughed humorously though Lola kept her eye narrowed in suspition.

"I honestly can´t see you entering into such a contest, Lily."remarked April still chortling.

Lily fixed her a happy smile.

"I can´t eighter, April."

Though as Lily pondered over the night, she wasn´t so sure about that. With Lola and April deep in dreamland she took the time looking out from Lola´s bedroom window as the moon shone brightly that night. Lily wasn´t even sure for how long she stayed there, contemplating on a very serious question. Did she really have feeling for Miles? She thought back to some of the times she spent with him, both with the gang and without. Before she got to know him, she only heared the rumors from Megacity which discribed him as a criminal and admittedly a person whom she never though she could associate with...

Then, in the heart of the Beauvillage drug-case several months back Chichi aqquainted them with the ever-greedy young man.

_-Flashback-_

_The gang looked around for the source of the voice and their eyes laid on a yound man on the grassy clearing. He was lying comfortably on the grass, arms behind his head, one leg crossed over another and small puffs of smoke going from his lit cigarette. Chichi grinned as the others drew their breaths. It was as if the rumor itself was coming to life before their eyes – Michael Miles was getting to his feet and started to approach them. One step after another, the fair black-haired muscular man was approaching them. He was taller than any of them and was wearing light blue jean shorts, matching sleeveless vest, white shirt and dark black sunglasses. He way he carried himself fitted his muscular appearance and coupled with the puffing on the cigarete, he gave an almost intimidating appearance. But just as he crossed the clearing to the place shaded by the trees, he puffed out the smoke, gave a couple of loud coughs and tripped one of the many rocks, that were sticking out of the grassy ground, sprawling himself on the ground, his sunglasses falling from his face. The gang looked from one to the other, unsure what to think, but Chichi unable to hold his composure any longer exploded in laughter. Shaking his head and still chuckling he rushed to his friend´s aid.  
„Well,__this__is him. Miles, this is April, Phil, Lily, Billy and my older sister Lola."said Chichi in a proud voice as he introduced his closest friends, each of them nodded, waved or made a gesture of acknowledgement as Chichi said their name. Miles approached them.  
„__Michael Miles__. For you guys ...__just__Miles."he said and gestured in a comical way, that lightened the tense moment and made everyone chuckle.  
He moved to Phil and fist-bumped with him, then kissed the back of Lily´s hand making her giggle._

_-End of Flashback-_

Lily smiled fondly at that memory. Since then Miles proved to be an amazing friend and a brilliant asset to their group. His personality was hard not to like. In fact, she met very few people as easy-going and open as him. Looking at the moon again, she remembered another little memory – one she had from the Stony moutains. As she was contemplating in much the same way, the footing underneath her crumbled and she would´ve fell several meters downward if not for Miles. Catching her, he prevented her fall and pulled her back up with a single hand. For a few seconds before her mother reached them, she remembered being in Miles´ arms. She blushed heavily remembering his strong arms. Thinking back at the other adventures she had with him, over the Bunglewood case and later she finally understood one thing.

"I... I´m falling in love with him!"she nearly exclaimed in revelation before clasping a hand to her mouth, carefull not to make a sound.

Looking over her shoulder she checked, whether Lola or April heared anything. Luckily not. Lola remained as she was and April turned over to her other side, snuggled more into her pillow an sighed something, that sounded very much like "Chichi...". Smiling to herself, she turned back to the window and her musings.

Sure, Miles was a cool guy and all... attractive, fun to be around. Dating someone like him surely would be a boat-load of fun. Recalling the journey with him and Chichi just 4 days ago, she almost laughed again. Accompanying the pair of them into Middletown on their business trip was more amusing than she believed possible – the two acted like a pair of clowns for her benefit even as they effectively completed their intended mission. In fact, she found herself pressed close with Miles and for a few seconds they shared a blushing stare before Chichi roused them from it. There was no doubt about it – she longed for him. Sighing to herself, she wondered about simply being as honest as he was with her and just tell him of her growing feelings for him. She cringed a bit at the thought. What if this somehow messes up their friendship if he´s not interested...? Mulling it over she shook her head.

"No... come on, Lily... you know him better than that."she whispered to herself.

True... Miles would probably feel flattered if not anything else and wouldn´t push the matter unless she would. So this should be easy enough...

In that case, she thought she should get a move on before the Miss Beauvillage starts and some girl actually manages to catch his attention, however unlikely that is...

On the other hand...

Lily´s smile started to grow. She realized that there would be a way to show her growing affection for Miles, have some fun and shut-up his lovesick fan-club once and for all – all in one single sweep. Enter the Miss Beauvillage contest – it sounded like a briliant idea now. Why not? Even if she doesn´t win, she can simply tell Miles her feelings – she already HAS an advantage over all of the other girls. With a gasp she realized, that this fact may actually be a problem.

With her already overgrown and still growing fame over the Great Mystery, plus the fact that she´s Miles´ friend the other contestants are bound to protest to her entery to the contest. In the wake of fairness and admittedly the hope of avoiding a possible scandal, Mayor Haveitall would surely agree to her having an unfair advantage – which would mean she would have no way of entering. Releasing a very deep sigh, she slouched on the window pad and stared sadly at the moon, desperately searching for a solution.

"Hm... what would Fleur do?"she pondered refering to the character in the Great Mystery book – a female main character, whom she modeled after herself – or rather the person she would love to be.

Indeed what would Fleur Resaque (or rather Fleur _Razor_, right now since she and Detective Razor were already married in the sequel book) do in this situation...?

Bright light shone in her eyes as the answer came to her in a single moment of briliance. A happy smile spread across her lips.

"_Oh, this is going to be so much fun..._"

...

The events of the next day progressed kinda rapidly. The breakfast in the Tofu house were a lot of fun especially for the girls. No sooner had the three girls went down from Lola´s room, they have erupted into a fit of giggles. Out on the yard Chichi was locked in an all-out yoga session with Mom. Buba explained that yesterday´s events have convinced Mom, that Chichi has fallen out of balance with the Great Oneness and insisted on helping him regain it. So a sleepy, hungry and disgruntled Chichi was doing a morning yoga-practice along with her – something he was always forced to do after serious trouble. The breakfast was interupted by the arrival of Pop and Titus both of whom were completly drained from their journey from Cygnuville as they sat behind the table. From what they said, the Cygnuvillian Outdoor Sales were a bit of a bore with nothing interesting happening. Mom and Buba instantly started to fill the others in and the gang took that as a que to move out to school – not really eager in seeing the faces of the two men, when they learn what happened yesterday.

Elsewhere in Beauvillage, there was a heated discussion about yesterday´s events too. Since yesterday´s evening, the Beauvillage Police Station was in an utter state of extreme celebration. Their sucess in apprehanding the theifs met with many calls of aprooval from the citizens and the higher-ups as well. Detective Wiseman had insisted on a party in the station in the light of the event – one that turned out unlike anything the policemen ever experienced. A party that dragged on for almost entire night and resulted in everyone sleeping over for the night. That of course also included Nick, Tex and Archie dispite the fact that they had school in the morning. As it was, by the time they have woken in Wiseman´s office most of the officers were already up, preparing coffee or attending their duties. Just like Detective Frederick Wiseman, who was currently attending a press conference at Town Hall – since the media were very interested about both their success AND Wiseman´s participation on the newly declared Miss Beauvillage contest. The three boys have just prepared themselfs for their journey to school, when an officer stepped into the office.

"Brother Fred isn´t here."Archie revealed to him.

The elder policeman smiled.

"I know boys. Its just that I was checking over the mail and THIS arrived for him with the morning post."he replied showing them a pink envilope he placed neatly on the table.

Smiling at them warmly, the policeman exited the office. The trio shared a meaningfull look. This letter HAD to be what they thought – another letter from their beloved brother´s secret admirer. Barely able to contain their curiosity, the trio reached for the letter as one, having a small fight over who would open it. Finally Tex won out (due to his height) and opened the envilope, which was pleasantly smelling from parfume – but one neighter of them recodnized.

Sharing a small glance with the other two, Tex proceeded to read the contents of the love-letter.

"My beloved Detective Wiseman, yesterday you proved yet again just what an amazing hero you are. I was so proud of you even as we all saw you and Miles on the stage – I think you´re much cooler than him by the way. I want you to know something... since the Miss Beauvillage contest is on, I plan on entering the contest and winning it. And then we can finally be together my precious genius of crime. Love, your secret admirer – soon to be your loving wife."

As Tex finished both he and Nick looked revolted, while Archie looked completly puzzled but all three sported brilliant blushes as they tried to puzzle out the contents of the sappy letter.

"This person, whoever it is HAS to be from Beauvillage if she knows about yesterday."whispered Nick, now full in detective-mode.

"And she wants to be brother Fred´s wife?"asked Tex in horror.

"Hey guys, look! A clue!"exclaimed Archie once more drawing their attention to the letter.

However both looked at the letter with bewilderment a moment of silence hanging in the air.

Archie pointed to the right lower area under the pretty handwriting.

"Eeeew! She kissed the letter! That´s completly gross!"exclaimed Tex in a revolted voice while Nick nodded fervently.

"But its a clue!"stressed Archie still pointing to the spot.

Once more his two brothers fixed him with a confused look.

"Look guys... just like people have finger-prints, we can use the same way of identifying the culprit using this!"

Nick gasped at his brother´s revelation.

"You´re right. So that´s what we do! We´ll take lip-prints."

"That sounds like a plan. But wait... how do we take lip-prints from the various girls to compare."

Nick snorted at Tex´s comment.

"Come on, man... we´re the Brotherhood of the Wise – the heroes of Beauvillage. _We_ will have no problem at all."

...

Beauvillage High was in a state of complete uproar from the moment the day began. Almost the entire girl population were chatting, comparing tactics, declaring their firm beliefs that they would win the contest and of course several insults were hurled some of which culminated in many cat-fights. The boys were eighter breaking up the brawls or speaking with eachother disgruntled about the contest. Following a lesson with Mrs Morter, who wasted no time in shouting at the girls for applying so much make-up and lipstick, then ranting about their "idiotic old douche-bag of a mayor" and his "degrading" contest, effectively taking up her entire lesson about the renesaince-time France. However, Chris stupidly pointed out this fact which prompted their professor, who was red-faced with rage to have them study up the lesson themselfs over the coming weekend, promising them a test on it on Monday. Cherie slapped Chris the moment Mrs Morter exited the classroom and the other classmates wasted no time in joining in, Chris completly under fire now. But suddenly the classroom-wide scolding came to an end, when an overjoyed Julia came into class and announced that the entery list for the Miss Beauvillage was now pinned up on the bulletin board. The effect was immediate. The girls let out an ear-splitting squeal and at once exited the class in a rush. The boys, grumbling to themselfs followed most likely to have a small chat in the schoolyard. This left only three people in the abandoned classroom – Billy Hubbub, Lily Robins and Lola Tofu.

"Good riddance."grumbled Lola glaring the closed door of the classroom.

Billy wasted no time in closing the distance between them and embracing Lola from the behind – he still felt that the yesterday´s small exchange in her room was lingering in her mind for a bit. Though pardoning him for the fight, Lola still seemed a bit distant. But the small ammount of lingering anger was slowly dissapearing and Billy was happy that his "punishment" was coming to an end, which was a good thing – he really missed Lola´s affections.

Smiling a bit at the show of affection, Lily envisioned her and Miles in much the same position. As she wanted to say her views at the current situation in their class, the classroom door opened and their homeroom professor entered.

"I´d rather spend the break here. Melissa – I mean professor Morter is _clearly _not in a good mood today and she considers me to be as responsible for the contest as the mayor is."he said answering their questioning looks as he seated himself behind the teacher´s desk.

"Also there´s one thing I have to talk to you about regarding the contest, Lola."

The trio shared a bewildered look as they seated themselfs closer.

"The mayor asked me to find one objective student, who would narrate the show along with Angie."

Lola gasped, feeling her cheeks growing warmer.

"You... you mean... ME?"

Professor Rodney Philips smiled warmly at one of his prize-students.

"Of course, Lola. I know that you are very objective, you have a talent for the stage and besides it will be good practice for when you enter Megacity´s Music and Art Academy. Plus this way, you´ll appear on the National Television which is bound to make things easier for you when you´ll apply for the Academy´s entery."

"He´s right, Lola. Its bound to give you higher chances. Remember what Johnny Jack said – every little thing helps and appearance on the National TV is hardly little."said Lily, nodding sagely.

Now completly red in the face, Lola turned to her boyfriend.

"What do you think about this?"she asked uncertainly.

His girlfriend´s question made his heart jump, knowing that his sweet, loving and affectionate Lola´s anger at him was completly gone. Smiling warmly, he pressed a loving kiss on her temple.

"I agree with them, Lola. I know, that you´ll be a brilliant narrator. Besides, you won´t be in this alone."he said already knowing, that Lola would ask "What if I mess up?" or words to that effect.

Lily nodded.

"Yeah. Angie will be there too, so no pressure."

Lola smiled happily, returned the favour to her boyfriend and turned towards Rodney again.

"I accept the position, professor."she said happily, but upon looking at their professor´s face her eyes flashed with concern.

Rodney Philips was looking somber for some reason, which was slightly out-of character for him.

"What´s wrong, professor?"asked Lily, also worried slightly.

Rodney snapped back to reality.

"Oh... nothing, girls... nothing at all."

Lily´s eyes however narrowed in suspition.

"Doesn´t look like nothing to me, professor. You look like that only when something really bothers you."

Rodney sighed – the two girls really knew him well by now. However, he pondered about what to tell them.

"It... it´s personal..."he replied vaguely as his cheeks took on color.

"Angie."

Rodney´s blush only intensified at Lily´s observation and he started to stammer.

"N... wha... how did you know?"

Lily giggled, pleased that her suspition was proven correct.

"You dulled so much when I mentioned her a moment ago."

Rodney sighed to himself, realizing that he had underestimated Lily´s observational skills – he supposed he should´ve known better since she wrote detective-novels.

"Well... yes... she´s been treating me really coldly since yesterday. Detective Wiseman says pretty much the same."he said with a sigh, revealing what had been eating him since yesterday – so much in fact, that he barely got a wink of sleep last night.

Though revealing as much as he had, he was firm in keeping his other thoughts to himself – since Angie was occupying his mind for quite a few weeks now and at a few times, she was also present in his dreams which left his face scarlet eachtime he woke up.

Since the mayor´s announcement of the contest and his and Wiseman´s agreement on their positions as the judges, Angela Haveitall was rather cold with both of them – and Rodney had no idea WHY. He broke off from his musings when he spied the smirks on the faces of Lola and Lily.

"Professor... is it possible, that you _like_ her?"asked Lily slyly and Rodney tensed once more, face going scarlet.

"N...o... of course not, Lily... not that way... I mean... um... Oh, excuse me. My cell-phone is ringing."he stammered as he got up and started for the door leaving the girls in giggles.

"Professor, we heared no ringing."called Lola with a giggle.

Reaching into his pocket for the cell-phone he turned towards them, scarlet-faced.

"Of course you didn´t... I have it on silent-mode."he said before he left the classroom in a hurry.

"Liar."said Lola smugly.

"Yup! It´s love allright."noted Lily, before the trio dissolved into laughter.

Rodney made it to an empty classroom breathing as though he ran a race, his face still red.

Thinking about it, the girls read him well. His feelings for the girl, who was a decade younger than him, a girl whom he used to baby-sit, a girl who had a crush on him since the age of 12 (a crush, he suspected had faded away by now) _were_ growing more and more. He wasn´t even sure WHEN it happened, but it hardly mattered now. He wondered about asking her out many times – everytime with the same conclusion.

"You´re too old for her, Rodney – face it."he told himself for what seemed like the milionth time.

Perhaps he WAS alone for too long. The problem is, that since his last girlfriend years back, no other girl in Beauvillage had interested him... except Angie. He lamented the fact, that the one single girl in the town that interested him was the one he couldn´t possibly have. His musings were interupted once more, now by the cell-phone in his hand which was really ringing now. Looking quickly at the caller ID, his face brightened instantly and he answered the call almost at once.

"Yes, Angie...?"

...

By the time the classes ended almost fourty names were already sighned in for the contest. Most of the student body went home but Cherie was sitting in the schoolyard along with Nina and Zoe. Out of the three girls only she had sighned in her name.

"Well, looks like you have your work cut out for you, Cherie."commented Zoe puffing on her cigarette.

"Most of the girls from our year and the final one have sighned in."noted Nina, the only one of the trio not smoking.

Cherie puffed her cigarette furiously.

"This means WAR! I will NOT allow any of them to steal away my precious Miles! And I´ll prove once and for all, that **I** am the prettiest girl in Beauvillage! I MUST win that contest!"she yelled, finally venting her frustration.

Indeeed she was vexed for most of the day and the surprise visit from the three younger boys from the Brotherhood of the Wise over lunch-break didn´t help one bit. Those three dumb pipsqueaks actually asked her to kiss some piece of paper – which led her to promtly slam Nick´s and Archie´s heads together. The other girls took this humorously and did as they asked, but Cherie was already in no mood for games.

"Hey girls."sounded a voice she knew so well by now.

Steve Rowan had arrived and sat down next to her.

"Hi Stevie."she greeted him, cigarette smoke coming from her mouth.

Steve coughed and waved a hand in front of his face, in order to clear away the smoke.

"I really wish you´d stop that, Cherie. Its bad for you, you know."

Cherie rolled her eyes and took another puff from the cigarette.

"It helps vent stress. And I´m stressed enough as it is."

Steve frowned and wanted to say something before Nina cut him off.

"I thought you went home, Steve. Did you have detention?"

Steve laughed a bit and shook his head.

"Of course not. Philips called for me and asked me to help in the contest, as the part of the crew."

Cherie gasped, but choked on the smoke still in her lungs sending her into a coughing fit. Steve instantly moved toward her and gently patted her on the back.

"See... I told you it´s not good."

Cherie however took no note of it and looked at him.

"You... you´re part of the crew?"

Taken aback at the question, he nodded.

"That´s amazing. In that case, you can help me eliminate some of my competition."

Steve gasped.

"Cherie, you´re not serious. You want to cheat?"

Cherie giggled slightly.

"We don´t have to call it that, Stevie. But some of the contestants... well most of them, are clearly not deserving of eighter the title or the prize date. I am the prettiest girl in Beauvillage afterall."

Steve blushed slightly.

"Of course you are, Cherie. There´s no reason to cheat than. You´ll win no matter what."

Cherie smiled warmly at him, only making him blush even more as she grabbed his hands and looked him deep in the eyes.

"Please, Stevie... I want to be completly sure... you know how the judges are... they may not be able to appretiate my beauty like you do... please, Stevie... do it for me."she pleaded with him in a voice which was like a hypnotizing music to his ears – so sweet, that he couldn´t possibly say no.

...

Exiting from Philips´ office, finally completing the preparation plans Lola and Lily were in good mood and Rodney Philips also seemed to have lightened-up since morning.

"I bet Angie called him. That´s why he´s so happy now."speculated Lily.

Lola smiled and nodded.

"What d´you think? They´d be cute together."

"I think so too. I mean, Angie loved him for years."agreed Lily as they opened their lockers and picked out their notebooks and placed them into their bags.

"Anyway, Lola... I see, that you´ve stopped being mad at Billy."

Lola blushed, but a gentle smile was playing on her lips.

"I can´t possibly stay mad at him for too long."

Lily giggled to herself, knowing what she meant for it was pretty much the same with her and Phil, no matter how mad she wanted to be at the little-guy sometimes. She wondered for a brief moment if that would be the same with Miles, though she couldn´t envision a situation when she would be mad at him.

Lola´s gasp brought her back to earth.

"Oh no! I forgot my pencase in the classroom. Wait for me a bit, Lily. I´ll be right back."

"Perfect."Lily said to herself as her best friend ran off towards their classroom.

Turning her head, she spotted the bulletin-board and moved towards her. Looking at the entery paper, she saw that a great number of contestants were there. Including Cherie, Mary and several other girls from her class. Smiling to herself smugly, she brought out a pen from her bag. She pondered about the pseudonym she would use for most of the day – finally she figured out a perfect one. A mischievous grin formed on her face as she entered the name on the entery list.

...


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The seven days that counted down to the start of the contest converged fast. Over that time a surpreme sence of excitement has gripped practicly the whole town. Several of the town´s businessmen with Mr Walden Workalot in the lead pledged to sponsor the event, in the hopes of attracting attention on National TV. This gave the working crew composed with many of the town´s youngsters under the lead of Beauvillage´s boy genius practicly any material they required and the location for the first round – Beauvillage High School Auditorium was transformed into a magnifiscent show-stage. The mayor was beside himself with joy, which was a good omen for Chichi an Phil, because he jovially handed over various material, that would come in mighty handy in the Hidehole. Not that he, or anyone else for that matter knew about it in the first place. With so much attention fixed on his work, Chichi barely gave a hoot about the various amulet-like ornaments and even a flower crown he was forced to wear at all times, until he _harmonized_ with the Great Oneness. Lily, Lola and April agreed, that he was already harmonizing perfectly as it was in the wake of all the work – he indeed looked in seventh heaven – something Mom Tofu was quick to notice, though misinterpreting the reason for it. Lola on the other hand spent considerable time with Angie, rehersing and going over various ways of narrating the first round – but they didn´t have nearly as much success as the boys did – neighter really knew what to say OR do. The three judges seemed to be having more fun than anyone. They went over several enteries and had much fun doing it... Rodney was pleased at the chance of getting to know both of the younger men and even Wiseman seemed to forget for the moment the rivalry he held against Miles for most of their lives. Miles as ussual turned out to be the comedy backbone of the trio. Though the trio converged behind closed doors, the information regarding the contestants seemed to have... slipped out somehow – well Wisey was insisting on sharing everything with the brotherhood and Archie was never exactly the secretive type...

So in the space of a single weekend Beauvillage knew, that roughly 60 contestants will be attending round one and even something, which became the talk of the town in a matter of mere minutes – a mystery contestant.

One girl had entered under a pseudonym apparently trying to keep her identity a secret. _Lis E Milo_. The name prompted an instant chorus of gossip in just about every category of Beauvillagers – young, old, male, female. All were extremly interested in just WHO could the mysterious contestant be. Initially there was a serious talk in whether or not the said girl soulg be allowed to enter. But Miles had insisted that it would provide a nice twist to the show, something which a thoughtfull Rodney and a jovial mayor had at once agreed. So Wisey was left outvoted and Lis was in. Not being one to give up lightly, Wiseman and his brotherhood had already launched an investigation – but to no avail. No one in Beauvillage knew anything, but to Wiseman´s surprise his three brothers were acting as though they DID know something.

"It HAS to be that secret admirer of his."noted Nick as the trio was left alone in Wiseman´s office.

Pacing up and down, he screwed his brows in an effort to puzzle the riddle out.

"But how to discover who it is?"pondered Archie as he and Tex looked over the copy of the entery list that their Big Brother provided.

"Apparently its someone who goes to Beauvillage High."noted Tex, stating the obvious.

"But WHO?!"exclaimed Nick in frustration before resuming his pace.

"We checked out just about every girl in the school..."sighed Archie looking over at another set of papers on the desk – the lip-prints they took just six days before.

"I still say, that they could point us to the culprit."he said stubbornly, once more looking them over.

"Forget it, man... we tried to match them a milion times already."Tex shook his head.

Archie gave out a stubborn sniff and crossed his arms.

"Wait a minute!"exclaimed Nick in a rush of inspiration, startling the two.

"Maybe the reason we weren´t able to find a match is because we DON´t have the matching pair... which girl´s lip-prints are missing?"he asked hurriedly.

With an excited whoop Archie and Tex started to scramble trough their notes.

"Sooo... we have these four from the entire third year – Lily Robins, Lola Tofu, Candy Liferich and Cherie Peters."

"THAT´S IT!"

Nick´s exclamation made the remaining two jump.

"Remember the way she slamed our heads together Archie?"

Archie shuddered and rubbed the same place, where the lump had slowly healed dispite the numerous "healing-kisses" from Emily to speed it up.

"I try not to, brother..."

Nick however took no note of it.

"I know why she did it... SHE´S the secret admirer!"he exclaimed in revelation.

A moment of silence lingered.

"But brother... Cherie´s name IS on the list... if this Lis is this secret admirer... she can´t possibly be it..."noted Tex, looking over the list for good measure.

Nick looked frustrated once more.

"Hm... let´s look at the other suspects... Lola Tofu... could she be the secret admirer?"wondered Tex.

"That IS a possibility... "nodded Archie in contemplation.

Nick rolled his eyes.

"Come on... _Lola Tofu_?!"

The two however didn´t acknowledge it.

"Maybe she _does_ have a thing for him..."

"Yeah... maybe she got tired of Billy Hubbub and saw our brother for the amazing guy he is."reasoned Archie.

Nick slapped a hand to his forehead, but the other two looked at eachother as though in revelation.

"You´re right. I mean, as we were taking the evidence she kept some distance from him..."noted Tex.

Archie nodded fervently.

"And Billy looked very sad too... it HAS to be it."

"And we haven´t seen them together for almost the entire week."agreed Tex.

"That´s probably because we didn´t see them for the entire week at ALL."exclaimed Nick, refusing to believe their reasoning.

"In any case..."he sighed before continuing.

"... the secret admirer wrote, that she´ll be competing in the contest. Lola Tofu is _narrating_ it and not competing."

The two thought about it.

"All the more reason to enter under a false-name."piped up Archie.

Nick let out a shout of annoyance.

"And just HOW the hell do you expect someone to be at two places _at once_?!"

Archie and Tex flinched at the exaspirated tone the Brotherhood´s second-in-command had taken.

"Well... there´s Lily Robins next..."said Tex quickly, not wanting to test their brother´s temper.

Nick snorted.

"Beauvillage´s little miss mystery...? Unlikely... I mean, remember the Bunglewood case?"

The pair racked their memory but were unable to grasp on what Nick was trying to point out.

Realizing as much Nick growled in impatience.

"Remember just WHO opposed us?!"

The pair´s faces brightened in realization.

"The soy-brain, Conners, Miles and _her_."said Tex as though just remembering.

"Exactly... and what comes out of it?"asked Nick looking sharply at them.

Archie and Tex exchanged bewildered looks before turning to Nick for explanation.

With another slap on the forehead, Nick gave out another sigh.

"If she was in love with Brother Fred, she wouldn´t have opposed us in the first place. She would´ve been on OUR side, dumbbells!"

Archie gasped in realization and Tex looked from one to the other.

"You´re right, brother Nick... and what about Candy Liferich?"

Nick for some reason looked very uncomfortable and he scratched his left cheek, which was oddly redder than his other one.

"She was willing to cooperate..."he answered quietly adverting their inquiring gaze.

Archie took on a thoughtfull pose.

"Well, she does seem to like you... so what went on? Didn´t you get her prints?"asked Tex.

Nick gave out a long sigh.

"I didn´t manage to take her prints at the High school, so I dropped by their house later and asked her. She gave me her prints going on about something... something about "the ultimate clue" for Brother Fred... but then Mia came along."he said, once more scratching his red cheek.

With another small growl he remembered the situation. The very moment as Candy gave him her lip-prints, Mia who was apparently returning home rounded on him. In a small instant, she tore up the evidence and slapped him across his cheek with surprising strength, calling him a "sick, long-nosed fetishist" before running into the house and leaving him stunned as he sat on the ground completly bewildered. What confounded him utterly was the feeling he was getting out of the thing – he had no idea why, but it was making him feel... sorry. And he had no idea WHY.

As he finished debriefing the summed-up version to his two brothers he was surprised to find Archie snickering.

"D´you ever consider that she likes you?"he asked slyly.

Nick´s jaw fell open.

"Candy?!"

"No, brother! MIA! She _likes_ you!"

Nick´s cheeks instantly turned beet-red.

"Y...you... YOU´RE OUT OF YOUR MIND ARCHIE!"

Archie however sported a knowing smile.

"Why else she would act that way...?"

Nick was growing redder and redder and for a moment, the two stared at eachother as though fighting for who is right in the matter.

"Sooooo... we have four suspects... what do we do now?"

Tex´s innocent question brought the two from their "battle".

"One thing is clear... we lack evidence..."concluded Archie.

"In that case... we´ll have to observe the contest. The secret admirer is _bound_ to reveal herself."said Nick before striking a pose, that was much like their Brother Fred´s.  
"Mark my words, brothers... this girl won´t escape the Brotherhood of the Wise."

...

Lola sighed heavily as she returned to the Tofu yard following yet another failed attempt at narrating with Angie. She was completly beat. As she came to the yard, she noticed that the entire Tofu and Hubbub family were sitting at the table having a leisurely time along with Miles, Trashbin and Weedpatch. Trashbin had officially taken full control of the project – given officially by his father. Weedpatch, having more than enough free-time on his hands and very curious about the Beauvillage´s beauty contest came along for the ride. As everyone chatted excitedly, Lola´s eyes found those of her boyfriend´s, who nodded and followed her back into the house, onto the living-room couch where Lola wasted no time in snuggling close to her boyfriend.

"Its gonna be a complete disaster!"she exclaimed as she snuggled into Billy, as though hoping that he could shield her from whatever awaited.

Billy smiled sympatheticly as he stroked her hair soothingly.

"I´m sure it´s not THAT bad, Lola."he offered kindly.

Lola let out a long sigh.

"Neigther me or Angie have any idea what to wear or what to say... its gonna be an ultimate failiure."

Billy tightened his grip on Lola.

"It won´t Lola. You´re brilliant... you won´t have any trouble at all."he said as he let his fingers travel across his precious girlfriend´s cheeks with loving affection.

The gesture however did not do much to relieve her of her anxiety.

"I just... I´m just so afraid, Billy... afterall... this show is going to be aired LIVE... and I´m just bound to make a fool of myself..."

Billy sighed before taking Lola´s cheeks into both of his hands, stilling her gaze in his blue eyes.

"Lola... sweetie... my love... you WON´T make a fool out of yourself... YOU´RE the most bright, talented, sweet and beautyfull I´ve ever had the fortune to meet... you have everything that the stage requires and I KNOW, that you´ll be brilliant on it. I KNOW, that you´ll be able to acomplish anything you ever want... and... you always have ME by your side..."

Lola cut off all he wanted to say with a passionate, gratefull and searing kiss – expressing all her love for the amazing treasure that was Billy Hubbub.

Dispite the passionate assurance her boyfriend provided to her, Lola still felt uneasy for the rest of the day. So uneasy in fact, that she found herself completly unable to sleep. Carefull not to disturb April, who was once more sleeping over at the Tofu house, Lola exited her room and made her way into the kitchen to have a drink of she walked down the stairs she saw, that the light in the kitchen was on. Wondering who could possibly be up at this time of night Lola came down and immediatly a small smile grazed her lips.

"Heh... who else could be up at 2 am... you know Mom and Pop won´t like it."she said to her baby brother who was sitting at the table tinkering with his Gzorbial cell phone, small tools sprayed all around the area he was sitting.

"Come on, sis. You know they never wake-up at this time of night. And I can´t work in my room since Miles and Trashbin are asleep."he shrugged as Lola poured herself a glass of water and sat beside him.

His room WAS a bit full right now with the two men sleeping in it. Weedpatch, the one closer to nature had been content to sleep outside along with Suzy, Curly and Cracker. Indeed, he shared many spirited conversations with Mom, Pop and Buba over the course of the day.

"Well Mr Inventor, what are you working on thistime?"she asked as she peered at the table.

Chichi rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"I´m just upgrading my cell phone... Phil´s new tablet gave me an idea on a few functions."

Lola couldn´t help but wonder at her brother´s technical prowess. It completly exceeded that of Pop´s or even Granpa Noah´s... sometimes Lola was really astounded at just how much was Chichi capable of. At times like that it seemed, that there was nothing the blonde boy couldn´t do. It made Lola feel a mix of jealousy and utmost pride in having such a brother.

"What´s up with you, Lola? The only time you´re not able to sleep is when something is bothering you."noted Chichi, snapping her out of her line of thought.

Lola sighed to herself unsure what to tell him. On the other hand, she trusted him more than anything.

"I´m nervous about the whole narrating thing. Me and Angie tried everything but nothing seems to work. We even watched some foreign shows so we could see how its done..."

Chichi placed his cell phone down and adopted a thoughtfull look.

"That and we have absolutely no idea what to wear... I know one thing though – I´m NOT wearing Buba´s wool dress."grumbled Lola.

Buba had just recently made a new dress out of Curly´s wool. A dress much like the one she made back when Rock Flower had his concert in Beauvillage. Lola had told Buba flat out, that she will NOT wear it on live television.

"I think you should just dress something you´re comfortable in. Y´know... something you save up for a special occasion. Same with Angie."suggested Chichi.

Lola bit her lip. There WAS something she was saving up for a special occasion with Billy, something she found in the Cygnuville stands barely a week ago. But there was still another matter.

"But I´m afraid, Chichi... I mean... I never once did anything like this. What if I make a fool of myself in live TV?"

Chichi smiled gently and shook his head.

"That´s just stage-fright, Lola. All you really need to do is just be yourself, sis. I´ve seen you on stage a number of times and I think you´re a natural. You don´t need to pretend to be something you´re not."

Chichi´s comment brought an astounded smile on her face. Coupled with what both Billy and Lily told her, she could feel the stress going away. They were right... an idea coming to her, she almost wanted to call Angie right now before Chichi reminded her that its 2 am in the morning.

...

Lola arrived into class in the middle of first period and right into Mrs Morter´s class, who wasted no time in wanting to place her in detention. However she had a special permission from the mayor´s office and Morter was forced to drop it. Though not without going into a rant about idiotic mayors and perposterous contests. Lola found herself smirking slightly as she took her seat next to Lily. Most of the boys in class immediately shot Chris a warning glare to which he cowered a bit – remembering to keep quiet as Professor Morter continued her rant. The girls however didn´t seem to care at all, which was uncharacteristic since Morter´s angry rants ussually intimidated them within the first three seconds. In fact, most of them looked far away from reality. When the lesson ended and an extremly pissed Mrs Morter was stomping from the classroom, Lily sighed to herself.

"Poor Professor Philips... I´ll bet you anything that he´ll be getting an earfull in the office."

Lola shook her head.

"Dunno what´s her problem with this. Everyone in Beauvillage is looking forward to the occasion. Well... the mayor isn´t anymore."

"Why? Did something happen?"asked Billy as he came to them.

"He had a phonecall with Mayor La Jolie."she explained and both Lily and Billy sighed deeply.

"Oh no. What did he agree on thistime?"asked Lily in mild exaspiration.

"Apparently the bet has been altered again. Angie told me, that La Jolie said, that the show must also have good cultural quality – not just an air-headed, second-rate beauty show."

Billy sported an uncomfortable look, while Lily was now clearly annoyed.

"That pompous jerk! He´s just goaing Haveitall into giving him advantages. If not for that he would´ve won already. No wonder his son is such a pampered brat!"

Lola sighed and shook her head.

"La Jolie´s strategy is apparently _working_. The mayor told him that the show will be the most popular contest our country has ever seen."

Billy slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Oh no... that means that La Jolie has already won."

Lola gave a loud sniff.

"No way...! I´m not ready to throw in the towel just yet. We´ll help mayor Haveitall win this bet. Just to wipe that smirk off La Jolie´s face."she said, eyes full of resolve.

While Lily beamed at her best friend, Billy looked very skeptical and looked out the window into the schoolyard, where almost every girl in the school was.

"I´m happy that you´re so fired-up, sweetheart. However I´m not sure the contestants will be so cooperative."

Lola and Lily stood up to look down from the window. Indeed, most girls even from this distance looked very tense and unsure. Their cases of stage-fright seemed even worse than Lola´s was.

"Not good... definitely not good."thought Lola as her eyes scanned the various tense girls.

However there was one thing that chaught her eye – Cherie was standing at the side of the schoolyard. But not with Nina or Zoe, with whom she spent a great number of time for the past year. She was standing with Steve.

"What the...?"she pondered as her eyes narrowed.

"_If she´s not up to something, Chichi doesn´t know what _a screwdriver_ is._"she thought to herself, carefull not to say anything in front of Billy.

Outside Cherie beamed her warmest smile.

"You are amazing, Stevie."

Steve blushed a deep crimson red and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Thanks... but Cherie, please... we really don´t have to do it."

Cherie however was preoccupied in looking over her "competition", her eyes flashing dangerously.

"None of them have a chance. Look at them, Stevie... NONE of them deserve my precious Milesey."

Balling her fist and looking determinedly at the other girls, she failed to notice Steve´s hurt look and the deep sigh he took.

"Lucky I have _you_, Stevie. You remember the plan, right? And you have to make sure no one knows..."

Steve shifted uncomfortably, clearly having reservations about it.

"I don´t know, Cherie... I mean... something like that is not easily done with Chichi around."

Cherie growled a bit at the very mention of the name.

"Come on, Stevie... that little brat is not half as smart as everyone thinks. And anyway there´s no one in Beauvillage smarter than you, Stevie."she said sweetly while placing a hand on his cheek.

Steve´s cheeks once more went crimson red and he found himself shaking a bit, his heart beating so fast, he was almost sure it would punch a hole in his rib-cage. He also noted how close Cherie´s face was to his.

"_So...close... just a few milimeters an we´d be..._"

The very thought made him turn even redder. Completly mesmerized and acting on pure instinct he started to tilt his head closer towards hers. Before his lips could make contact with hers however Cherie´s eyes flashed making him cringe.

"What the HELL?!"she exclaimed.

"_Uh-oh... busted._"thought Steve in alarm as Cherie´s eyes were taking on more and more rage.

"You gotta be KIDDING!"

Steve moved his face back a bit and closed his eyes in a grimace, expecting a scold or slap or both.

"Do you see, what I see...?"she growled and Steve opened one of his eyes in question.

Cherie wasn´t looking at him, but over his shoulder. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, he turned and looked at the place she was glaring. Immediately his jaw fell down.

"Is _that_... Candy?!"he exclaimed unable to believe his own two eyes.

Candy was looking absolutely stunning – she only chose a different dress, one that hung closely to her frame. Her mini-skirt revealed her flawless legs, not too long or short – simply perfect. Her long blonde hair positively shined in the sunlight and the small ammount of make-up she applied made her face... well incredibly beautyfull. To cap it all, she moved with a delicate grace and confidence that the other girls today clearly lacked.

Turning his face to Cherie he immediately saw her shaking from pure rage. However trough his years of knowing Cherie he knew that this was only a reaction to a threat.

"Cherie, don´t worry... "he said trying to calm her down.

"Don´t WORRY?! Stevie... how in the world am I supposed to compete against THAT?!"she exclaimed and now Steve was completly sure that her anger was a result of her doubts.

Quickly closing the distance between them and acting on instinct once more he grabbed her in a tight reassuring hug.

"Cherie... you have everything it takes to win the contest. You´re a brilliant girl... you´re capable of doing anything you want."he said quietly and soothingly.

Sure enough her shaking had ceased and he felt her relax into his embrace. He smiled gently as he heared her give out a relieved sigh.

"Thanks Stevie... I really needed to hear that. But I´m not sure if I´ll be able to win without your help..."

Sighing to himself, he knew what that meant. But Cherie´s state right now was making him make up his mind about it in a rapid pace.

"I´ll do it, Cherie... I´ll find a way to help you win round one."he promised as Cherie snuggled into his arms again.

...

Excitement in Beauvillage was reaching its peak as the time for the begining of the contest was coming. National TV vans under the command of Trashbin, who was busy directing the various cameras, making sure the various cameras got every little detail even as a crowd of Beauvillagers both young and old lined up to the High School Auditorium.

"Whoa... amazing... so many people turned out for the live recording."noted Lola as she looked from behind the window at the large crowd outside.

"Tell me about it... I didn´t expect so many... "nodded Angie, who was looking from behind Lola.

"Lucky your little brother and the crew made enough space for the audience."

Lola grinned. She was immensly proud of Chichi and what he was capable of accomplishing with the aid of the small crew he had at his disposal. They worked tirelessly for four days in order to transform the Auditorium into this amazing place, which one only sees in real contests. As the two spun around they saw the working crew finishing the last touches before coming all together infront of Trashbin and Mayor Haveitall, who looked extremely tense. Trashbin however looked incredibly pleased and happy. Unlike the very formally dressed mayor, Trashbin was dressed as though he was going to perform on one of his band´s concerts. Light blue shorts, sneakers, a deep red T-shirt and a black sleeveless leather vest. His light green eyes gleamed at the seven boy crew.

"You have nothing to worry about, Mayor Haveitall. With such an accomplished crew there´s nothing that can go wrong."he said in a soothing voice.

"I hope you´re right, my dear boy. My reputation depends on it."said the poor mayor with a sigh.

Flashing the mayor a reassuring smile, Trashbin turned to the crew.

"Perfect work everyone. Chichi, you and your crew really deserve this."said Trashbin beaming at the seven boys lined up to him while clapping Chichi on the shoulder and passing an envilope to his hand much to everyone´s surprise.

Opening it, Chichi gasped and Phil, who was looking over his shoulder let out a low whistle.

"A 140 bucks?"he asked in wonder and the remaining boys gasped.

Trashbin grinned at them.

"A 20 for each of you. Divide it among yourselfs for your good work."

The boys shared a happy smile and so the money was divided between Chichi, Phil, Billy, Steve, Joe, Maurice and Victor, who joined in eagerly and dispite being the youngest in the group put in as much work as everyone else.

"This is completly awesome, Chichi."exclaimed Victor beaming at him brightly as he passed him the 20 dollar bill.

"You earned it, Vic. I hope I can count on you for the other rounds as well."replied Chichi grinning at his classmate´s younger brother.

The boy befriended Chichi over a year ago, when most of his class learnt more and more of Chichi´s and Phil´s technological exploits – seeing Chichi as a hero of sorts, he took the oppoturnity of getting to know him when Chichi was finally invited to one of his elder brother Oliver´s numerous parties.

"You got it, captain."he exclaimed happily springing into a salute.

"Hope we´re not too late."came an all too familiar voice from the backstage´s door.

The teens along with Mayor Haveitall stared in confusion, but Chichi and Lola goaned. Mom, Pop and Buba came along with Miles. They apparently wanted to dress for the occasion. Pop was dressed in long pale blue trousers, a sewn up black t-shirt and a brightly coloured flanell shirt. On his head was a wierd looking hat, which looked as though it was made by sewing several colorfull hats together and uncharacteristicly he had a round-shaped pair of sunglasses on his eyes. To cap it all, he had his famous rock-guitair strapped over his shoulder. Buba´s dress was a virtual blast from the past, something which was common in the 60´s and associated with the Hippie movement. Mom´s dress however took the cake. A long skirt, which reached down to her ankles and was parted at the side of her legs and one part of it was blood red, the other pale purple. A long-sleeved Tofu jacket, which looked like various squares of multicolored cotton stitched by brightly yellow stitches. Her trademark ponytails were gone. Instead she had her hair made into multiple tight cornrows made by April as Chichi suspected. Miles on the other hand, much like both Trashbin and Weedpatch was dressed in a very punk-rocking style – tight long light-blue pants, black and white sneakers, his black t-shirt which had a picture of some band no one but perhaps Chichi recodnized was covered by a sleeveless slightly torn vest which was obviously made out of the same jean-fabric as his pants. Even his hair was messy and sticking to all sides, his infamous sunglasses gleaming – ironicly, the "bad boy" look suited him incredibly. Lola slapped a hand to her forehead and Chichi goaned loudly, both apparently lost for words. Angie however giggled as she came closer to them.

"You´re just in time. I must say, you look... _uniuqe_."

"That´s putting it mildly."growled Lola as she moved closer to her little brother and the pair made their way to their parents, even as the other teens except Billy (who chuckled in good-humor) stared, unsure what to make of this.

"Pop... I t_old_ you to leave _that_ at home."grumbled Chichi pointing to the guitair.

Pop laughed and clapped Chichi on the shoulder.

"Come on, son... we were young once too, remember? And I really wanted to play today."

"NO!"exclaimed both siblings in alarm.

"Pop, I told you... the music for the first round is pre-set."explained Chichi quickly, hoping to talk his father out of the idea.

"Unless of course, our _honourable_ judge has promised a small change of plan."said Lola while glaring Miles as Billy made his way between her and Chichi.

Miles grinned at her apparently unaware of her glare.

"I didn´t Lola... I just promised the folks a front row view on the round, that´s all."he said good-naturedly.

"A very nice dress, Suzan... brings back memories from my childhood."said Mayor Haveitall while giving Buba a small smile.

As the Tofus started to converse with the Mayor and Miles, Lola took her chance to turn to her brother.

"I thought you were going to make sure, that they´ll stay at home."

Chichi took a deep sigh.

"I tried... but Miles apparently had other plans. I just hope the cameras won´t take them in..."

Billy chuckled slightly as he placed his hands on both of their shoulders.

"Its not so bad, guys... actually I kinda like it."

Both Tofu siblings flashed his an incredulous look but suddenly Billy froze and his jaw fell open.

"Sorry we´re late. Titie here had some trouble buttoning his belt."exclaimed Beth Hubbub mischievously from the door.

"Very funny, _dear_..."said Titus with a note of swagger as he gripped his belt with both of his hands.

Both Lola and Chichi snorted and had to work hard not to erupt in laughter. The Hubbubs were dressed in what they obviously hadn´t worn from their own teen days. Beth was dressed in a frilly pink skirt and a loose short-sleeved t-shirt with a black grinning cartoon cat on it, contrasting with the pale pink of the shirt. Her hair was made into several small bunches – she looked like an overaged teenager. Titus much like Pop was wearing jeans, but his were wide at the anckles, showing off his fancy pointed brown shoes. Also the aged black wide colarred jacket contrasted with his baby-blue shirt along with his fancy belt and numerous shiny ornaments on a necklace around his neck. Plus he had obviously gone to great lengths to make his hair point from his fore-head in Elvis-style. Billy almost swayed and he clapped a hand to his forehead. Chichi and Lola turned to him and Billy cringed at the sly look the siblings were flashing him.

"Not that bad, sweetie...?"asked Lola in a honey-sweet voice.

"_Actually_... we kinda like it."added Chichi, unable to keep the mischievous grin off his face even as Billy goaned and blushed in pure embaressment.

As numerous talks ensued Trashbin moved toward Miles.

"Here´s my end of the deal."he said pulling an envilope from his pocket.

Miles took it and immediately looked over the contents discreetly and flashing Trashbin an amazed look.

"HOLY CASH!"he exclaimed.

Trashbin grinned.

"Didn´t expect so much did you?"

Miles took a frantic look around and quickly placed the envilope into his breast-pocket before taking Trashbin by his shoulder.

"Trashbin... this is... mucho-money... king-kongin´, greed-grabbin KILLER. The mayor-man said that it probably wouldn´t fetch much."he said seriously in a whisper.

Trashbin´s eyes twinkled as his grin grew larger.

"The idea was really popular with my Pop and the board. And thanks to Chichi-boy over here and the numerous local businessmen, we haven´t even used 30 percent of the budget for round one. Its the least I could do."

Miles´ face took on an expression of utmost happiness.

"I´m sure you do all you can, Trashbin ol´friend, ol´pal, ol´_business_ partner."he said as he pocketed the envilope and clapped Trashbin on the shoulders numerous times as Trashbin chuckled happily.

"Just make sure to share some of that with Chichi for his amazing work and with Phil for the opening to the contest he made on his computer... another kid that has one hell of a talent."he said, flashing a look at the two boys, just as Chichi was talking to the rest of his crew, dividing the roles they would play during round one to general astonishment, that they would appear on National TV.

Miles grinned.

"Don´t I know it... behold Beauvillage´s awesome twosome."he said proudly.

Trashbin chuckled to himself as he nodded. Suddenly a man in a blue shirt and a set of headphones was running to them.

"Mr Skylark... Mr Skylark..."he yelled as he came in towards them trying to catch his breath.

Most of the others looked confused, except Miles, Chichi, Angie and the Mayor as Martin Skylark – AKA Trashbin smiled at the man.

"Everything is ready, Mr Skylark... the people are all waiting."said the man happily.

Trashbin smiled broadly and nodded.

"In that case, let them in. And get all cameras at the ready. The transmission team as well. Have them play the opening young Phil Conners provided and also add Miles´ introduction."he instructed and the man sprung into an obedient salute.

"Yes sir."

Trashbin smiled good-naturedly at the man´s retreating form, before turning to the others and calling attention to himself.

"Ok, everyone... everyone to their places... its SHOWTIME."

...

Anyone tooning into the NATMA´s broadcast was treated to a magnifiscent opening sketch showing Beauvillage and the numerous people, contrasting with a small rock-styled music that only a few people knew was provided by the band called Dr Quacko. As the scene opened to the site of the outer interiour of Beauvillage High and the numerous Beauvillagers who had excitedly came to enjoy the contest, the voice of Michael Miles sounded – opening the narration.

"_Friends, ladies, gentlemen, kids, elders, pets and other animals tooning to the tube... welcome to Beauvillage... Here... today... the epic, awesome and incredible battle is on... the battle for the title of Miss Beauvillage – the most awesome, cute, beautyfull and amaaaazing girl in town. As you can all see, the town is full of excitement as the countdown to the contest went down to zero and the time had come to engage round one... and now I give the word to our Beauvillage narrators – the girls who are already so awesome they don´t need to compete... our Beauvillage´s famous faces – Aaaaangela Haaaaveitallll..._"

A loud applause sprang from the interior from the large number of spectators seated on the giant seating area built by Chichi´s working crew. Angie, looking stunning in her black short skirt and a brilliant pink long shirt, her hair let loose and shining in the stage-lights, without her glasses, which gave her a stunning appearance that Rodney Philips gawked on from the backstage, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Smiling broadly, Angie took a small bow and waved to the crowd with one hand, microphone in the other.

"_And Beauvillage´s most prized young talent... Looooooooola Tooooofu..._"

A similary loud applause rang and Lola had to fight down the blush on her face as she took her place besides Angie and bowed similary.

"_Miles, you flatterer._"she grumbled in her mind, unsure whether to whack him after the contest or hug him.

Lola was dressed in a brilliant red dress, which she bought from the Cygnuvillian stand and the small ammount of make-up applied by Angie only added to her beauty. She really wanted to have it applied by Lily, but for some odd reason... Lily wasn´t available. Her mother told Lola, that Lily had locked herself in her room, apparently getting a brainstorm for her sequel book. Lola supposed that she´ll have to talk with her about it.

"THAT´S MY SWEET LITTLE HUMMINGBIRD!"

Lola nearly cringed at the sound of Pop´s voice from the front line, which attracted quite a lot of attention from the people seated besides the Tofu elders. However she couldn´t bring herself to be cross with him. Not when she heared and even saw the pure pride radiating from him and even bringing tears of happiness in his eyes as the applause rang. Surpressing a happy smile that was threatening to form on her face, she guided her microphone to her mouth.

"Thank you... thank you, Beauvillagers. Without further ado... its time to start the Miss Beauvillage contest... but first we cannot do so without introducing the three most importaint people in this room."

Angie turned to her as though the two were sharing a leisurely chat somewhere in a café.

"Right you are, Lola. So its time to introduce our three most charming and amazing judges."

Trough the speakers in the hall, controlled by the equalizer which also led the sound into the transmission grid along with the picture, a loud melody from the opening rang and the crowd once more sprang into applause as Angie pointed to the veiled background.

"First of our judges is also our eldest of the three... Beauvillage´s most celebrated teacher, an amazing person, a gifted academic, philisopher and the nicest man in Beauvillage..."

Behind the curtain, Rodney was blushing a deep shade of red, though smiling gently.

"_Angie, you little flattere_r..."he thought affectionately.

"... PROFESSOR RODNEY PHILIPS!"

At the sound of his name a massive applause combined with girly screams rang out as Rodney Philips stepped out onto the stage.

Dressed loosely in long black pants, a pure white shirt which gave him an official yet still leisure look. His hair was slightly scruffy but in a very boyish manner which suited him naturally. Rodney smiled broadly, waving to the crowd as he approached Angie and Lola, bowing politely to both of the ladies. While Lola returned the bow with a warm smile, Angie quickly bowed her head determined not to let anyone, let alone Rodney see the crimson blush on her face – Rodney´s appearance almost left her swaying and completly speechless wanting nothing more than to throw herself at him in a bear-hug. Angie continued to look at him as he moved towards the judge table built by Chichi and taking his seat. Understanding what was going on, Lola took the microphone and the lead.

"_Payback time, Miles._"she thought mischievously as she turned to the crowd.

"Our second judge is one of Beauvillage´s mystery men. Beauvillage´s most unpredictable, go-lucky businessman... the man admired not only for his amazing physique but also for his kind heart and helpfull nature. The man, thanks to whom no single day in Beauvillage is ever a dull one. The one... the only... the amazing... MICHAEL MILES!"

From behind the curtain flying in a blur, a person obviously jumped a sommersault and landing on his knees, sliding towards the end of the podium as a thunderous applause almost raised the roof. Girls were screaming in full fan-girl mode as Miles got up to his feet and did a number of poses which were both impressive and funny. Apparently in a euphoria of his own, he cut the distance between himself and the girls in a single mock-elegant swoop. Doing a mock-royal bow he took Angie´s hand and kissed the back of it, sending her into a fit of giggles and then turning towards Lola he took her into his arms and raised her off the ground as he spun her in an overjoyed daze. Setting her down, he flashed her a grin and mouthed a "Thank you". Lola smiled back, seeing that Miles was clearly touched at what Lola said into the mic and even shocked to see a small tear roll from his cheek.

"And our third judge..."started Angie as Miles took his chair.

"... is the Beauvillage´s hero of criminology... the Beauvillage´s most celebrated law-enforcement officer... the famous... the one and only... DETECTIVE FREDERICK WISEMAN!"

From the curtain, Wiseman ran out, tears in his eyes. However his foot got chaught in the curtain and he lost his balance as he tried to make his way to his cousin, determined to hug the life out of her. As he lost his footing he tripped and before he could get to Angie, he sprayed himself on the stage, right between the two narrators. The two girls wasted no time in trying to help him back to his feet, even as the crowd exploded in , who was dressed in grey trousers, a white shirt and a dark-green woolen vest which had several white cube patterns knitted into it, got up. Without his famous sunglasses, Lola realized, that he actually _is_ kinda good-looking. Wasting only a second he hugged Angie in an affectionate bear-hug. Angie chaught the almost tearfull "thank you" he whimpered into her ear and hugged back with equal force. As they parted Wiseman turned to Lola and an awkward second lingered. Only after being ribbed into his back by his cousin did Wiseman extend a friendly hug to Lola as the applause still rang. Once Wiseman seated himself at his seat, the applause died down.

"And now its time to introduce those, whom this contest is really about... dear Beauvillagers, please give a warm welcome to our contestants."

From the side of the large auditorium, the door was opened by Maurice and Joe and a giant number of girls entered to a large applause. All were clearly in their best clothing. Though some wore dresses that were more focused on elegance and others short and revealing. Much like Cherie, who clearly put much pride to her slender figure and her black leather mini-skirt matched her sleeveless top, which had left a part of her right shoulder exposed. Her long shiny black hair was tied in a single ponytail which waved behind her back as she moved and she had applied make-up to her face, crowning with the blood-red lipstick. Steve peeked from behind the stage-curtain and as his eyes found her, he turned as red as her lipstick, opening and closing his mouth as though gasping – the sight taking his breath away. The crowd quieted down as a last person was walking trough the door. Inside, walking in with a sence of confidence came a girl dressed in a brilliant bright, shining blue dress – long-skirted and sleeveless, revealing her slender arms and showing off the numerous blue-colored ornaments around her wrists. Her dark brown hair was shining and made into two equally long ponytails, which hung loosely from her shoulders. On her face was a mask, which was matching the color of her dress and sparkling slightly in the light the atrium provided. Many people drew in their breaths, already knowing WHO this girl was. On the stage, Lola, Angie and the three judges smiled knowing, that _this_ was the mysterious Lis. As a small moment of silence hung, people sprang into applause at the enterance, even some of the fellow-contestants were applausing Lis, others were scrowling at the attention she was getting and two or three asked an importaint question "Why didn´t I think of that?".

In the backstage, staring from behind the curtain Chichi looked besides him to find his best friend completly drooling as he looked at the mystery contestant.

"Chichi... that MUST be an _angel_."said Phil in a dazed voice not even noticing the confused look his best friend was giving him.

On the stage Lola grinned, recodnizing something about Lis. Looking at Angie, the two shared a look of agreement on NOT bringing anymore attention to Lis – since she was getting enough attention as it was. Clearing her throat, Lola once more guided the mic to her lips as the deafening applause died down.

"Since our contestants are here, its time the rules of round one are explained. As such, I pass the task to our three judges."said Lola to the once more applause as the three judges stood up from the table and came to them.

Miles immediatly took the microphone from Lola.

"My dearest girls... I´m happy so many of you have come. All of you look completly greeeeedilicious and its already clear to me, that deciding which of you will pass and which of you won´t will be an impossible task..."

Suddenly the microphone was yanked out of his hand by Wiseman.

"However this is a contest and only the best can win... I know that you will all do your best, but unfortunately not all can make it past this round..."

Miles yanked the mic from Wiseman and moved closer to the edge of the stage.

"But don´t let my collague´s pessimistic rabble let ya down, dear beauties of Beauvillage... you´re all the flowers of the town. Since this is a contest, let´s all just enjoy this and have some good ol´ fashioned brutal fun!"

As Miles´ comment met with an aprooving wave of cheers and applause, he made several spirited gestures as though he was the star of the show, even as Wiseman made several attempts to take the mic from him, all futile because Miles was jumping and dancing away from his grasp. At this point Rodney placed a hand on Angie´s shoulder and Angie, understanding his silent plea passed the microphone to him.

"Since the objective of round one was a secret, engineered to test you... no one was informed of what are you going to do. But now its time to reveal that secret..."he said catching everyone´s attention.

Under the stage, among her many co-contestants Cherie grinned to herself.

"_Not much of a secret to ME, professor._"

Indeed, Steve had told her everything that round one was about, giving her a major advantage.

Clearing his throat, Rodney Philips called for silence – something that even Miles and Wiseman complied to with curiosity.

"Now... as perhaps everyone knows by now, this contest was open for any young lady from the age of 17 to the age of 25. While each and every of you are beautyfull and uniuqe, we must first start with something more simple and common. Therefore we decided to make round one an introductionary one. Since there are 60 of you and we can only allow a half to pass, we wanted something, that all of you could do at once, so that we - poor elderly judges..."

A loud humorous laugh rang trough the audience and even some of the contestants laughed humorously at Rodney´s subtle sence of humor.

"... can see and compare who is more talented and charming – henceforth we decided to keep you in the dark to give everyone an equal chance of succeeding. So then... my dear ladies, I now announce, that the round one will be... a DANCE ROUND."

Rodney´s announcement met with shouts of approoval, pleasant surprise and in the case of some of the contestants, trepedation. He waited patiently for the voices to die down before continuing.

"That´s right... a dance round... me and my fellow collagues will judge which ladies stand-out from one another..."

"And with the use of our crew, will be on a look out for any cheating..."said Wiseman, determined to show, that no foul-play will be in this contest.

A small wave of silence came over the auditorium.

"And let me tell you... any cheating will be heavily punished."added Wiseman pointing in a dramatic pose.

"Of course, we trust that not one single among of you will lower herself to such levels."added Rodney swiftly, saving the situation.

"But before we can get to any of that... you girls need to have your numbers, so that we will be able to manage this round sucessfully."said Miles after yanking the mic from Wiseman´s hands.

"For that we have the perfect thing – bring it, Chich!"he exclaimed pointing to the curtain after them.

From the backstage, passing beyond the curtains Chichi and Phil were puching a large wierd-looking machine on its wheels. It looked more like a work-table than anything. Even Angie and Lola looked confounded as the two boys pushed it next to Miles. As soon as they were done, Chichi turned towards the backstage and gave a discreet thumbs-up. In the backstage, Billy returned it and plugged in a cable in his hand – a cable which led to the mysterious machine. Phil was passed a bucket by Victor, who swiftly returned backstage. As Phil began to pour the contents into the table-like machine, the people saw that the bucket held several yellow round balls. As soon as Phil finished, Chichi pulled a lever and a large transparent, glass-like globe covered the place where Phil emptied the bucket. Pulling another lever, he turned on the ventilator which was positioned on the bottom of the machine. Immediately the small balls started to fly around in the bowl-like top of the machine, bouncing from its walls in numerous directions. The crowd immediately got the idea and sprang into a happy and admiring applause.

"This little machine has 60 balls, each bearing a number. Each contestant will come up here, place her delicate hand into the small opening here..."Miles pointed a finger to a small opening on a lower side of the machine.

"... and pick out her number, report it and your name to our crew..."he said pointing to a smaller table on the opposite side of the judge table, where Victor and Steve were already seated.  
"As the song starts, you will just have to dance, dance and dance till´ your feet fall off... and when it ends, we will name the thirty numbers who pass round one."exclaimed Miles to general cheer of the auditorium.

"Now ladies... form a line in front of the stairs to the stage. And come one by one to our ball machine."instructed Rodney politely.

His command met with instant compliance as a line was formed accompanied by another applause. As the first girl, dressed stunningly came to the machine, nervous and unsure what to do, Chichi flashed her a kind smile.

"Just place your hand into the opening and grab a ball."he said and chuckled as the elder girl shot him a "Is is safe" look.

"Don´t worry, it won´t hurt you."offered Phil kindly.

Taking a deep breath, she did so... placing a shaking hand into the opening while closing her eyes, as though she thought her hand was going to get bitten off, experiencing a small sensation of the rubber balls gently bouncing off her hand instead. With a small giggle, her fear left her instantly and she grasped for a ball – once suceeding, she pulled out a yellow ball with a red number 29. Turning around, she showed the ball to the audience which immediately cheered. Chichi smiled his infamous smile and directed her to the table where Steve and Victor were sitting. Walking over happily, her confidence renewed the girl started to show her number and announced her name to the two boys, who wrote it down on a piece of paper.

As they did, a small sharp flash illuminated both them and the girl. Though looking mystified for a brief second, the girl moved away as the crowd sprang into another applause to the other contestant, who picked her number and she moved away from the table, past the now seated judges, flashing them a blushing smile as she stepped down from the stage and stood separated from the line of her fellow contestants. As another girl, younger than the first one came up to place her name, another flash flashed.

"Perfect positioning. We´ll be able to get enough photos from here."muttered Tex in the hiding place in the backstage, a photo-camera in his hands.

"That´s awesome, brother. Make sure you get all of them so we can file the information for our investigation."said Archie from beside him, clearly pleased with how well this is going.

Pulling out his walkie-talkie he placed it to his mouth.

"Wise Team One reporting. Brother Nick, everything is going as planned."

A small moment lingered, then the walkie-talkie sounded with a reply.

"_Wise Team One, I read you. Keep up the work. And for God´s sake tell Tex to turn off the flash on the camera, its flashing on the stage._"came Nick´s voice.

"I can´t, brother Nick... the flash switch is busted, probably got damaged the last time when we fell down."said Tex into the walkie-talkie, while still keeping his eyes out for what was going on on the stage.

From the other side of the walkie, the two heared a small slap and a girl´s voice saying "Figures". The two shared a confused look before looking over to the other side of the backstage, where the form of Nick was crouched behind one of the machines, a hand on his forehead. However standing next to him was a girl. Recodnizing her instantly Tex and Archie grinned at eachother.

"Guess you were right about Mia, brother Archie."said Tex in a snicker.

"Yup, it must be love."he said, as they once more allowed their sights to linger on the pair.

"_Stop oggling at us and watch the damn stage! That´s an ORDER!_"said the annoyed voice trough the walkie and the pair immediately jumped and resumed their work.

Still grumbling and slightly blushing Nick turned back to the stage, binoculars in hand as he heared a small giggle behind him.

"Nice. Very authoritative."commented Mia in appretiation.

Nick was glad, that she couldn´t see his face for the blush was intensifying.

"Yeah well... we´re not here for fun..."he said before placing the binoculars to his eyes.

Mia rolled her eyes.

"If you think, perving with binoculars isn´t fun..."

Nick immediately rounded on her.

"What´s THAT supposed to mean?!"

Mia crossed her arms and scrowled.

"Exactly what I said, you pervert! Don´t think I forgot that little "evidence gathering" of yours."

Rolling his eyes and goaning, Nick looked at her very seriously.

"I _told_ you, that we´re investigating that Secret Admirer of brother Fred´s."

Mia narrowed her eyes at him.

"And you think its my air-headed sister?!"

Nick sniffed in a defiant way.

"Until the evidence points otherwise, EVERYONE is a suspect. Even you!"

Mia´s eyes flared.

"What´s THAT supposed to mean?!"

Nick fixed her with a calculative look.

"Exactly what I said, blondie. It could as well be _you_ and you´re only here to divert attention from yourself, so that we´ll fail to get the eveidence."

Mia´s jaw fell open and a look of revulsion appeared on her face.

"You´re dumber than I thought... and that´s saying a LOT. ME and WISEMAN?! You have to be out of your _mind_!"

Nick now turned toward her, ready for a fight.

"That´s DETECTIVE Wiseman, you stuck-up cow! And who knows... I mean, why else would you be here in the first place."

Their eyes locked in a deadly combat, they failed to notice their faces coming closer, until their foreheads bumped. However neighter took any notice of this as their eyes were still locked, each determined to make his point.

"Let´s get one thing straight, you long-nosed dumb-ape... The ONLY reason why I wanted to come here was, because unlike the others in class, I want to be as close to the action as possible and there´s no other place closer than this. I have absolutely NO interest in your "Brother Fred" and even less interest in YOU! I´m only tagging along with you because right now I have no other choice if I want to be close to the going-ons!"

Nick growled and was about to retaliate, when the walkie-talkie chimmed again.

"_Woah guys. Look at the stage..._"came Archie´s voice which appeared to be amazed, even as a deafening cheer sounded in the auditorium.

Looking at the stage Nick and Mia saw, that Candy had just stepped up to the mix-machine. She looked amazing, capturing the attention of many boys and even the crew oggled a bit. However both Lola and Phil flashed a worried look at Chichi as Candy approached them.

Both very much remembered, that Candy was his first crush and just how his first date ended. Chichi however now looked completly normal, he even flashed a small smile on Candy, who appeared to be in her element on the stage.

"Well... hand inside, Candy..."

Candy smiled brightly at him.

"Thanks, Chichi..."she said, as she complied with the instruction.

As she picked out a number and moved towards the table with number 11, Phil flashed Chichi a confused look. Chichi grinned at him.

"I told you guys - I´m over her."he said quietly.

Phil returned the grin and Lola, though not hearing what he said, deduced that everything was fine and breathed out a sigh of relief.

In the backstage Mia huffed.

"Look at her... dressed up like some idiotic doll. Only a fool would EVER like her..."

However as she looked at Nick, she found with horror, that Nick was keeping the binoculars on his eyes and looking at her direction. In one instant, she slapped him over the head hard.

"OW! What was THAT for?!"he exclaimed grimacing in pain.

"Stop checking-out my sister, you sick pervert!"she growled as she reached for his binoculars and grasped at them.

"I wasn´t checking her out, you overreacctive blondie! I was checking-out the reactions of the judges and the body language..."

"_Body _language?! You perv-monkey! Give me those binoculars!"she exclaimed as she pulled on the pair of binoculars but Nick had firm grip on them.

"No way, blondie! I need them for..."

"PERVING! GIVE ME THOSE RIGHT NOW!"

"Forget it!"

The small tuggle war, lasted only for a moment, however Nick´s footing gave out and he lost his balance just as Mia gave an all-mighty tug. Falling towards Mia, he let go of the binoculars in orger to break their fall and Mia, who let out a small squeal fell backwards, the binoculars flying out of her hands. As they flew across the place, they hit into a machine placed at the wall. A small sound of breaking was heared and a few sparks shot out of the machine, but neughter Nick or Mia paid any attention to it as they were now sprawled on the ground with Nick on top of her, the sound of their fall masked by the applause coming from behind the closed curtain. As the two goaned from the fall, they opened their eyes and realized the position they were in. Instantly a deep-red blush appeared on both of their faces, which were relatively close to eachother. For a moment, time seemed to stand still for them as they looked into eachother´s eyes, unsure at what to do, or what to make of the explosion of feelings in their hearts – feelings they weren´t able to decipher in such a fast pace...

For a second both surveyed the other with curiosity, as though seeing something, that they failed to see in all the time they´d known eachother. Their hearts beating fast, they reacted on instinct – something was drawing them closer, they tilted their heads closer...

"_Brother Nick, you gotta scram... Billy and Joe are going back into the backstage._"sounded Archie´s alarmed voice from the walkie-talkie, snapping the pair out of their trance.

Scrambling from the ground, they swiftly mae their way into their hiding place and just made it as Billy and Joe returned from the stage. During the time as Nick watched out for any activity going on in the backstage, Mia took a few moments to catch her breath, her heart still beating franticly.

"Ok... they´re going back to the stage. Wait here... I gotta go get my binoculars."he said hurriedly and without another word, he made for the machine that the binoculars hit.

Mia in the meantime was still trying to catch her breath, placing her palm on her heart she took a deep sigh.

"_What the HELL is THIS feeling?_"she asked herself just as Nick returned with the damn binoculars.

...

The crowd gave a yet another cheer as the last, 60th contestant had gotten her number and Chichi and Phil wasted no time in getting the machine back into the backstage. As the girl came down to join her fellow-contestants – all of them now wearing their numbers on their clothes, the two narrators once more adressed the crowd.

"Now that everyone has their numbers our dear judges can get to work."said Angie as she and Lola moved toward the judge table.

"Please do tell us, how will you pick out the girls who will pass the round."asked Lola curiously as she passed the microphone to the first judge – Rodney Philips.

"Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, each of us judges has a vote. And each of us has hos own way of picking out the person we feel our vote belongs to. I for instance, have devised a small table, where I will mark off the the attributes I feel that the winner should have."he said, showing a writing-table to the crowd – the teacher side of him showing its face.

The crowd cheered and the girls shared a look as he passed the microphone to Wiseman.

"I will need no other tool than my ingenious Detective observation skills."said Wiseman proudly.

With a yet another cheer, the microphone was passed to Miles. Miles jumped on the table and made a wild gesture as though embracing the crowd to a yet another cheer.

"I will be watching all of the beautyfull girls with my trained eye... girls..."he said, jumping from the table and coming infront of the contestants.

"To score major points with me, all you need to do... is be yourselfs... Don´t be afraid... show me yourselfs, proudly and without shame... your free and youthfull spirits... just LET ´EM LOOSE!"

The hall sprung into a loud and happy cheer. Lola approached Miles´ side and placed a hand on his shoulder gently. Nodding, Miles passed the microphone to her.

"With that much said, contestants get ready... in 15 minutes round one is begining."she bellowed into the mic and the auditorium once more sprang into applause.

"Aaaaaaand CUT!"exclaimed Trashbin, before turning to one of his men.

"Play the commertials"he instructed before he took his position by Angie´s side on the stage.

Taking the microphonefrom her, he adressed everyone in the auditorium.

"Amazing job, everyone... Weŕe having a 15 minute break and I would like to ask our lovely ladies to go back into the back room and prepare themselfs for the dance round, please."

Noding almost as one, the girls made their way into the back-room.

Turning towards them, he fixed Lola and Angie with an overjoyed smile.

"I gotta hand it to you girls... amazing narrating... we were right to put you to the position."he said smilingly to them.

"Thanks Trashbin."said Angie blushingly.

"Yup... thank you, _Mr Skylark_."said Lola mischievously.

Trashbin laughed and winked at Lola.

"It was my pleasure, _Ms Tofu_."he said, kissing the back of her hand with a level of noblesse.

Turning toward the crew, who had run into the stage he smiled.

"Ok kids... we gotta get the stuff prepared for the dance. Chichi..."

Chichi nodded happily before turning to the other boys.

"Ok... as everyone knows, let´s make sure that everything in the back is prepared."he said to general agreement of the others.

As most ran off to perform their duties, Billy, Chichi and Phil came to Lola and Angie.

"I knew you´d be a natural... awesome narrating, sis."said Chichi happily, flashing his sister a tenthousand-watt smile.

Lola wasted no time in embracing her brother.

"You were right... thanks for your vote of confidence. And the idea you gave to me."she said kissing his cheek affectionately, as he chuckled.

"Always happy to help _you_, sis."he said snuggling into the embrace with obvious affection.

Most of the crowd gave a affectional "awwwwww". Mom´s eyes watered in happiness, as Pop placed his arm around her shoulders while looking at his offspring with undeniable pride. Buba was smiling gently, her eyes showing with obvious love for her grandchildren. April, seated besides her smiled brightly, happy for the tho siblings.

"Heh... I wish I had a sibling like that."breathed Chloe wathing the scene with longing eyes.

April turned to her and placed an arm around her shoulder.

"I sometimes wish that too..."

Chloe chuckled at that.

"Don´t lie to me, April. You wish it was YOU in Lola´s place right now."

April blushed but looking back at the siblings, smiled gently.

"I do... really I do..."

As the pair separated and Chichi with a boyish grin ran off to the backstage, Billy approached Lola and placed an affectionate kiss on her cheek.

"Picking up where your dear brother left off..."he said before planting a passionate kiss on her lips, not paying any attention to all the "awwwws", "oooohs" and various wolf-whistling coming from the crowd.

"You are amazing in this, my love... Natural, charizmatic... and ... incredible."he whispered lovingly to his beloved Lola.

Lola gave him an overjoyed smile before catching his lips in another kiss.

"All thanks to the two boys I love with all my heart."she said referring to him and her brother, Billy taking the comment with much affection.

Suddenly their moment was disturbed by Chichi running onto the stage.

"Trashbin! C´mon here... we got a problem."he said in a daze of urgency.

Everyone including the judges hurried into the backstage right after Chichi, who looked in a state of panic.

As they came to a halt, they saw that Chichi was leaning towards one of the numerous machines by the wall.

"Its completly busted."exclaimed Chichi pointing to a dent on the machine.

"Which one is it?"asked Trashbin in worry.

"The music machine, which was supposed to play the dance song for the round."

"OH-NO!"exclaimed Miles-

"This is CLEARLY sabotage! You sure, you have nothing to do with this, young Chichi?"

Wiseman´s question insighted feelings of incredulity, curiosity and outrage from Miles, the crew, Lola and even Rodney.

"You´re NOT serious, _Detective_ Wiseman!"exclaimed Lola in half-anger at the implication Wiseman was giving.

"Well... his position gives him enough oppoturnity to do so..."

Rodney sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"And tell me, Fred... what possible motive would Chichi have for sabotaging the event."

As Wiseman struggled to came up with an answer, Chichi scanned the machine.

"Can it be fixed?"asked Miles looking over his shoulder.

"Yes. But no sooner than a day... its completly busted..."

The others gasped and looked at eachother.

"Oh no... what now?"asked Angie fearfully.

"I´m _ruined_!"exclaimed the mayor.

"Dad, stop talking like that!"countered Angie as her father grabbed his head in frustration.

"Oh yes I am, my sweet child. Its the clown suit for me."

Chichi thought to himself for a moment, then his face brightened up – something which reflected on the faces of the others, knowing well that the genius-boy had figured out a solution.

"Mr Philips... are those music instruments from the last play still here?"he asked, remembering the last High school play, where his big sis starred and which had a live band playing the music.

Philips thought to himself.

"Yeah, in the storage room of the auditorium."he said, and his face brightened up as he looked at Trashbin and chaught on to Chichi´s idea.

"Here are the keys – Principal Whiterose gave a copy to all the teachers."he said, throwing the keys to Chichi.

Catching them, he turned to his crew.

"Allright, guys... let´s get those instruments on the stage. Lola, can you call Pop and Ralph?"

Lola looked inquiringly at her brother.

"Why... oh no... Chichi..."she breathed getting the idea.

Needless to say... she wasn´t very fond of it. Chichi however turned to Trashbin, who also grasped at what was the idea.

"Get Weedpatch... and Miles... I can count on you too, right?"he asked Miles as Angie nodded and left the backstage in a flash.

Chichi smiled back at thim, as the boys, Phil in the lead left towards the Auditorium´s storage room.

"Trashbin... I leave everything to you guys."

...

As the 15 minute break was over and the contestants lined up onto the dance-floor. Lola and Angie happily stepped up as another cheer boomed the auditorium.

"Welcome back... now we´ve had a slight technical problem, but thanks to our crew´s amazingly swift actions we´re back on track."announced Lola happily.

"Right you are Lola. As you have no doubt have noticed, we have one judge missing in here..."said Angie, indicating to a place at the judge´s table, where Miles was absent.

"You see... originally the contestants should be dancing to a modern hit-song..."explained Lola and down in the crowd Cherie cringed.

Steve had told her everything – including which song. He even went as far as to enter HER favourite song for the dance round – a song which wasn´t easy to dance for. However for some reason, something had gone wrong and now she had to rely on herself – she was not encouraged by this. However most of the other girls looked discouraged themselfs.

"... instead we´ve cooked up something, which will make the contest even more fun and a treat of sorts for you viewers. And so, I give word to judge Miles."

As applause drowned Lola´s comment as she moved towards the closed curtain. As silence hung in the auditorium Lola passed the mic trough the opening in the curtain. Even Angie moved out of the way and the lights dimmed.

Suddenly the stage-light shone on the middle of the curtain, where it spread. Miles´ head popped out and the crowd nearly laughed, because he had his hair styled into an elvis look, obviously shaped with hair-gel. Grinning broadly, he brought the microphone to his mouth.

"Heeeey Beauvillage... I know that like me, you guys were all wondering..."

First notes of music started to play slowly on an electric guitair, as the crowd drew in their breaths.

"... which girl is the best dancer in Beauvillage...well... its time we find out... HIT IT!"

At Miles´ command, the stage curtain burst open (opened by Phil and Chichi), revealing a band – a real live band starting their song...The crowd went wild in one second as Miles, who brandished a saxaphone as he once more brought the microphone up.

"As I already said to you lovely ladies, show us your true selfs... let it looose... and to help you, we´ve cooked up this little song... so... so girls... _Show me what´cha got_..."

Instantly he started to play a cheerfull melody on the saxaphone as the rest of the band joined in – Trashbin on the bass, Weedpatch on the drums and Pop and Ralph on the guitairs. The contestants instantly went into a kind of transe and started to dance as a good old-fashioned rock song rang trough the Beauvillage High´s Auditorium. Trashbin stood behind his microphone and started to sing in a deep voice.

_All of ´em are lovely, all of ´em are cool._

_Some think I am crazy, some think I´m a fool._

_But tell ´ya what dear people, got an awesome plan._

_Find which one is top-best, trust me that we caaaan._

Miles subtly added several small tones from his saxaphone, adding to the crowd´s and the contestant´s excitement. Many including the two Tofu ladies along with April, Chloe, Emily and other members of both Chichi´s and Lola´s classes already risen up from their seats and clapped in beat to the song.

_Weeeell then lovely ladies, guide my little eyes._

_Show me your true beauty, everything that´s nice._

_Eagerly I´m watching, caaamera in my aaaarms._

_Falling as a victim, to your pretty chaaaaarms._

Jumping towards the microphone, Pop, Ralph and even Miles sang along with Trashbin as the song sprang into the chorus.

_Show me what´cha got._

_Show me what´cha got._

_Show me what I´ve never seeeeen._

_Show me what´cha got._

_Show me what´cha got._

_Who... is... Beau - viiillage... QUEEEEEEEEN!_

Jumping from the microphone, Miles once more slid on his knees towards the end of the podium, saxaphone in arms, playing a solo - a melody, which had the entire Auditorium in a grip of euphoria, even as he moved, jumped and danced along with the others on the stage.

"This is so coooool!"roared a completly overjoyed Chloe as she, April and Emily jumped up and down in a three-way hug.

"Its refreshing to see my sweet pine-tree so... in-tune with his instrument again."screamed Mom to Buba in order to be heared over the music and the joyfull cheering.

Both of them smiled, as on the stage Pop stepped up and started to play a guitair solo to pair up with Miles´ saxaphone – the two men happily playing along with the other, switching over which instrument had the dominance and filling up eachother´s gaps as the crowd positively roared, unable to contain themselfs.

"I always said, its a shame he gave up the stage."said Buba, smiling radiantly at her son-in-law and thinking affectionately of one other talented musician, who DID follow his dream at the cost of her love – also knowing the reason WHY Jacob Tofu gave up his would-be musical career, something that got her everlasting respect for him.

At the judge´s table, Wiseman and Rodney found their job both harder to do, and yet... everything seemed to come into place as they spied the girls who were dancing underneath the podium. Rodney now really appretiated the idea of young Chichi Tofu – the boy was truly a genius.

The girls indeed were not only unstressed, but in the wake of the song, all of them were really showing their true selfs in their dancing. Some like Cherie, Candy or Julie clearly stood out from the rest, showing in their wonderous spirit, beauty and energy. Also, he fixed his eyes on the mysterious Lis and for some reason was pleased to see, that she was also exhibiting something some of the other girls clearly lacked – a sort of a spark – the elegance in her moves as she danced to the song, completly overjoyed.

"Well, Fred... I see my favourites... I´ve already written them down."he said turning to Wiseman.

However Wiseman was scarcely paying any attention. He was moving from side to side on his seat, his arms franticly waving in all directions, an expression of utmost happiness on his face as he allowed himself to be completly taken in by the song.

In the backstage, a hiding Nick watched in wonder along with Mia. The entire band using the stage meant, that they had less places to hide and less places to move as they were attempting to gather evidence. Now, crouching from behind a machine, Nick was staring wide-eyed, a dumbfounded expression on his face, not even noticing that Mia was standing right behind him, her palms on his shoulders as she attempted to take a better look at what´s going on over Nick´s head.

"Can you believe it, Nick? They _actually_ like it!"she exclaimed in wonder, though truth be told... she liked it as well.

"Amazing."he breathed before taking out his walkie-talkie.

"Guys... guys... we have nothing more to do here now, let´s..."

However, he heared laughing and even a small cheer from the walkie. Looking over the other side of the stage, he saw that his two brothers were dancing to the song, cheering, jumping up and down and even dancing along with eachother in complete euphoria.

"TEX! ARCHIE! GET THE HELL BACK IN HERE, THAT´S AN ORDER!"he yelled into the walkie, but it didn´t have any effect.

"Go get ´em, Nick! We gotta scram before they find us."advised Mia, knowing that when the song ends, everyone will return to the backstage and increacing the chance of them getting chaught.

Nodding, Nick carefully made his way towards the other side of the backstage, darting past various machines, switching positions in order to prevent anyone to see him and even doing a few roll-overs in order to swiftly move from place to place. Something, which actually chaught the attention of Mia.

"_Wow... he IS kinda athletic..._"she thought with a small blush.

Suddenly the music ceased and Nick swiftly puched hiself to the floor.

Trashbin started to kick in beat and Miles made clapping motions with his hands – the crowd and contestants catching quickly and following the instruction. The girls competing stopped their dancing and jumped up and down while clapping as Miles adressed them.

"My lovely ladies... you have shown amazing dancing and while I would dearly love to put all of you up for nomination..."

He paused to allow a approoving cheer fill the hall.

"...this is a contest afterall... some of you chaught my eyes, some did not... but that doesn´t mean, that you´re not awesome... we had a lot of fun right now and that´s what really counts here... so those who will not make it past this round... you´ve gave it your all and that´s all what anyone could´ve asked for – you should be proud of yourselfs... those that DID... I look forward to seeing all that you´ve got..."

Another loud cheer filled the hall and everyone instantly knew, that whether pass or fail, there would be no hard feelings.

"Before we get to the pleasant or unpleasant task of announcing those who pass... let´s have a bit more of dancing... and let´s all sing along..."he said before crouching a bit lower as to be closer to the girls and he began singing in a soft voice.

_Show me what´cha got._

_Show me what´cha got._

_Show me what I´ve never seeeeen._

The last part sung by nearly everyone in the auditorium. Miles gave a small signal to the band and Pop, Ralph and Trashbin joined in with a few subtle toons as Miles gave people another signal and pointed the microphone towards the crowd, listening to them sing.

_Show me what´cha got._

_Show me what´cha got._

"WHO"he exclaimed loudly with the crowd.

"IS"exclaimed Phil and Chichi joining in.

"BEAU-"roared Angie and Lola.

"-VILLAGE"screamed Wiseman and Rodney.

"QUEEEEEEEEEEEN!"yelled the entire Auditorium, the sound carrying troughout all of Beauvillage.

As the band sprang into life again, the chorus went once more, with everyone singing, Nick lifted himself up from the floor and ran towards Tex and Archie, who were once more dancing and singing.

"Come on you idiots, let´s get outta here!"he screamed at the dancing pair.

"Wait ´till the song ends, brother."exclaimed Tex, still dancing.

"Come on, brother Nick... Join in..."screamed Archie jovially as he grabbed Nick by the arm, determined to have him join in the dance.

"Let me go!"yelled Nick, as he tried to wrench his arm out of Archie´s grasp.

However Tex apparently shared Archie´s opinion and swiftly grabbed Nick´s other arm. As both of them pulled at the same time, Nick was chaught off guard and the combined strength of the two yanked him off his feet. And theirs too. The trio flew backwards towards one of the wooden slopes of a construction, which the High School used for school plays. As they flew into the slope the combined weight did its job and with a cracking sound, the slope broke. Masked by the cheers and the music no one other than Mia noticed, but as the pair distangled themselfs, the construction shook and several cracking sounds were heared. Realizing what was innevitebly about to come, the trio ran across the backstage like mad, reaching Mia who was looking curiously at the wood construction even as the trio dashed for the door. Realizing, that she had not moved, Nick swiftly moved and grabbed Mia´s hand. Startled for a second, her eyes met his and she felt her cheeks heat. Having no time for anything else, Nick yanked her hand.

"Come on... let´s get outta here!"he exclaimed as the song ended and a powerfull applause drowned out the cracking sounds.

Nodding, Mia swiftly ran out with Nick still hand in hand.

On the stage, the band was bowing as everyone in the Auditorium wasted not a second to express their more than approoving opinion of the song. Lola and Angie swiftly moved infront of them, followed closely by Rodney and Wiseman.

"Thank you... that was the most... amazing song, I have _ever_ heared."said Angie into the microphone as the crowd once more cheered.

The performers rewarded her with their blushing and sheepish grins and smiles.

"Its nice to see, that Beauvillage has not only gifted youngsters but also cool and gifted _adults_ too."said Lola, smiling brightly at her father, who returned her a blushing but radiant smile.

"Well now... the time has come for the three judges to announce the lucky ladies, which will continue to round two."said Angie, mindfull of what was still ahead of them.

The three judges converged in a small group and they spoke to eachother in low voices, Rodney providing the overview of the girls´ dancing to confirm his views with his two collagues – a wave of silence gripping the Auditorium.

"I never would´ve guessed, that Miles can play like _that_ – like a real pro."remarked Phil to Chichi as the pair were still standing next to the empty judge´s table, surveying the scene.

Chichi chuckled happily.  
"Not many people know it, but Miles was actually one of the founding members of The Jumpers – along with his best friend Roger, they put the band together when they were 16. Roger told me, that he played not only the saxaphone, but also the piano and bass. He also co-writed some of their first songs, like the song I have as my ring-tone on my cell-phone."

Phil gasped at his best friend´s explanation and looked over at Miles with new-found respect.

On the stage the three men separated, and turned towards the crowd and the competing girls. Taking a microphone from Lola, Miles started to adress the crowd.

"My dear, lovely, awesome, beautyfull ladies... we have the honour of announcing the 30 girls who made it past the dance round..."

Suddenly an all-mighty crack sounded from behind them and before any of them could turn to look, several large wooden pieces fell down on the backstage floor with a loud bang. One after another in a few seconds the entire wooden theatre construction fell down, breaking into pieces and raising a cloud of dust. The crowd held their breaths and a deathly silence gripped the entire auditorium. As the dust settled, everyone was able to see the broken pieces of wood, the backstage looking like it was recently demolished by a bulldozer though thankfully, not one of the machines suffered any kind of damage. As the wave of silence lingered, Miles gave out an overjoyed whoop surprising everyone.

"Look at that people..."he exclaimed happily pointing to the rubble.

"WE BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN!"

Miles´ exclamation was followed by a loud all-consuming cheer, that shook the entire town of Beauvillage.

...


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Sitting comfortably on the sofa, Lily put down a pen for a moment happy with the end of her new chapter. Letting out a relaxed sigh, she closed her eyes for a moment. The round one and its smashing finish provided her with an amazing set of scenes. A smile spread on her lips. She, or more precicely Lis had managed to score high points with all three judges – being one of the few girls who actually did so. She had no idea who were the other ones, but Judge Philips had told her, that she was one of the lucky five, who scored full points. It was only three days after the round an almost entire Beauvillage was still in various levels of ecstasy. Well except Mayor Haveitall, who once more was in a tough spot courteousy of Mayor La Jolie. Immediately after the live broadcast of round one ended, Trashbin´s father called and announced, that the viewing was enormous. Straight after that, Mayor Haveitall got a series of calls from his fellow-mayors, who were absolutely astounded at the show. The mayor was positively hopping up and down until La Jolie called. The man simply refused to give up and said that for him to admit defeat, the ENTIRE show must be amazing, not just round one. That also meant one very serious issue, that still has the mayor shaking out of fear – there can be NO hint of scandal. It took Detective Wiseman AND Miles to get him to calm down. Though since then Wiseman grew a bit suspitious at Miles´ eagerness to help and has resolved to keep an eye on his fellow-judge. He has also been trying to investigate the small sabotage of the music machine, but even with his brotherhood he came up empty-handed. To ensure, that another sabotage won´t happen he had promised that Nick, Tex and Archie will be on hand during the contest when he´ll be at the judge´s table. Other than them, no one on the crew really minded the brocken music-machine, since the solution turned out even better and heavily popular. So popular in fact, that Miles, Pop, Ralph, Trashbin and Weedpatch went into the Megacity´s studio to record the song, which would now become the opening track for the TV broadcast of Miss Beauvillage – the recording went down on the very next day in fact. Also the media from almost all around the country went wild. Beauvillage was suddenly under assault of various reporters, televisions and other media groups. The various articles were issued in almost every newspaper and magazines all around the country. Just yesterday in fact Beauvillage High was under assault of the country-wide famous weekly magazine called _Week One_, interviewing just about everyone – with the exception of Professor Melissa Morter, who had locked herself in her and Professor Philip´s shared office and refused to come out for the entire day, even to teach – something which greatly pleased the student body. Lola and Angie were also under heavy attack, giving interviews, expressing their views and also asked to reveal some personal questions – something Lola refused to do. The news-hounds were also on a heavy hunt for Chichi, whose reputation grew even larger as soon as it was revealed, that the crew was under the command of Beauvillage´s boy genius. That was the reason, why he spent most of his days in the Hidehole, which turned out to be the safest of havens. The Tofu house was also assaulted a bit, but luckily Buba had suceeded to draw the reporters away with the help of Cracker, Curly and Suzie – much to the great dissapointment of Mom, Pop, Beth and Titus who wanted to use the oppturnity to publify their own issues and business. She even went as far as to ask Mayor Haveitall for help and he was able to negotiate with the media to leave them alone, with great help from Angie and Rodney. The judges were also slightly displeased about the sudden tidal-wave of popularity, since both Rodney and Wiseman found it to be a horrible distraction which was preventing them from fully concentrating on their professions. The only one, who didn´t seem to mind at all was of course Miles, who wasted no time to show off and secure contacts, which he claimed would be _Greed-mines_. Lola was completly exaspirated with him, but Miles was positively the darling of both Beauvillage and the media. The only one who shared her view was Wiseman, who was convinced, that Miles was up to no good. However besides giving interviews and showing-off, Miles did nothing of his ussual _business_. In fact, since coming back from the song recording, he didn´t do anything at all – arousing suspition from both Wiseman and Lola.

One thing that bothered Lily about this was, that all the popularity stuff significantly cut down on his time and he didn´t spent any time with her since the first round ended. This caused her a certain level of unease and she found herself missing him and his antics which ussually left her gasping for breath in laughter. Chichi and Phil kept her company a bit, but as it always is with those two, they instantly busied themselfs by working on the Hidehole. Lola also spent the three days with Angie or Billy – something which Lily took with understanding. However, presently Lily felt that she had nothing to complain about. With so much going on about the Miss Beauvillage her popularity about the Great Mystery went on the side-track – something she found pleasing, refreshing and most welcome. It gave her a sence of regained freedom that she felt when she was writing the first book and it instantly showed on her work. Two chapters in two days and the plot was getting better and better. As for the contest and her alter-ego Lis, she now had to admit that her idea of being a mystery-contestant was pure genius. Not only did it give her great fun, pleasure and inspiration, but also a monster-popularity from which she was protected by her mask. Though the news-hounds were on a hunt for the mysterious Lis, their every effort was in vain. Other than the name even the judges knew nothing – nothing to tell the media. The only thing they could do was wait for the next round for Lis to show herself again, which only added to Lis´ popularity. The smile on Lily´s face grew even larger as she once more felt a surpreme sence of power in the secret identity. She felt resolved never to give an interview, or do anything to reveal her secret identity to the press, or anyone else for that matter. Well... except ONE person that is... She wondered just how long will it take for Miles to figure out who Lis is...

"_Perhaps I should give him a small clue..._"she mused smilingly, eyes still closed.

"Jeez what brought such a radiant smile to your face?"asked a voice she hadn´t heared for three days.

Her eyes snapped open and instantly she saw her best friend standing in the Hidehole´s computer room holding two large bags from Burger Palace. Her smile didn´t vane one bit as she regarded her.

"Nice to finally see you, Lola."she said mischievously.

Lola returned the smile.

"Sorry about that... things have been getting a bit hectic you know."she said in an apologetic voice.

Lily shook her head.

"You don´t have to apologize, I understand."

Lola breathed out a small sigh of relief. She knew Lily would understand, but hearing it from her put all her worries about the matter to rest.

"What are those?"asked Lily gesturing to the bags.

Lola giggled.

"Me and Billy also had to get away from it all, but we figured that you _hard-workers_ must be getting hungry. So we brought lunch."

Lily grinned.

"Nice of you. So where is your dear boyfriend?"

"He´s outside with April and those two. They told me, that you´re writing here and I wanted to have a private talk with you."answered Lola as she moved closer to the sofa and set the bags on the ground as Lily moved over to give her some room to sit down.

"What about?"she asked in obvious curiosity.

Lola grinned wickedly as she reached into her pocket and pulled out an envilope.

"You see... round two of the contest is planned and all the contestants are getting information about it. The only one who doesn´t know is our mystery contestant, so I thought that you should get this... _Lis E Milo_."

Lily gasped in pure shock.

"L...Lola...how...?"

Lola grinned before giggling.

"I may not be Beauvillage´s genius, but I _can_ recodnize my best friend no matter what disguise she puts on."

"Who else knows about it?"asked Lily swiftly.

Lola smiled gently.

"No one but me I think. I´ve told Angie, that I know who Lis is but she agrees with me, that her identity should be a secret."

Lily smiled happily before embracing Lola. The enbrace lasted for a while, nothing was nedded to say. Though this was not the person she hoped that would discover her identity, Lily was very glad for it.

"You should look at it."suggested Lola as the embrace broke.

Nodding, Lily opened the envilope and read out the information for the second round.

"Lily... what prompted you to enter the contest?"asked Lola suddenly breaking her out of the reading.

"I thought it would be inspiring and fun to do. Also it is a nice alternative to some of the _other_ contestants."she reasoned and both girls scrowled knowing who was meant.

"No offence, but I´m not convinced that´s all there is to it."said Lola in a mixture of suspition and apology.

Lily bit her lip, wondering whether to tell her or not. Lola let out a sigh.

"Its about Miles, am I right?"

Lily instantly fixed her with a yet another shocked stare. Lola sported a small smile.

"I think I can understand why, Lil... and I think its worth a shot."

Lily´s eyes couldn´t open any wider.

"You... you aproove? I thought... that you and Miles... well..."

Lola giggled.

"He gets on my nerves sometimes sure, but he IS a nice guy. And an honest one too... I´m sure he´d never do something like your past lover-boys... he´d never hurt you. But Lily... I´m not sure your feelings would be returned. You know how Miles is."

Now it was Lily´s turn to giggle even as she was almost bursting with joy at her best friend´s support.

"Yeah I do, Lola. Maybe that´s what makes me like him so much. I think its worth a shot."

Lola nodded smilingly.

"I´d much rather see him with you than with any other girl in Beauvillage. What´s your plan?"she asked in a serious voice.

Lily smiled happily as she considered her explanation.

"Well... I want to give him some clues so that he realizes who Lis really is. Then I will confess everything to him and drop out of the contest. I don´t want to win. My joining the contest was for two reasons – to have some fun, aaaand..."her face took on a devious look.

"...to see those annoying fan-girls sweat as Lis takes the lead."

The two girls shared another giggle, Lola was liking the plan all the more.

"Oookay then... if you need some help just ask me, ´kay? I´ll help you here and there, so much as we won´t actually cheat."

Lily smiled and shook her head.

"Thanks Lola. But to be honest, I´d like to do this on my own. You know me... I like a good challenge. Not to mention, it really helps along with my new book."

Smiling happily, Lola nodded.

"All right, _Lis_. But know one thing... I´ve got your back."

Lily grabbed her in a bear-hug.

"You´re the greatest friend I could ever ask for."she said in moved emotion as Lola smilingly hugged her back.

...

"ART?! WHO´S IDIOTIC IDEA WAS THAT?!"exclaimed Cherie, positively howling in rage.

Steve cringed a bit as Cherie stomped in her room raging like an angry lionness, the envilope open on her room´s table, the paper it contained now crumbling in her grip.

"Cherie please... calm down."he said imploringly.

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?! PRODUCE A WORK OF ART IN _2 HOURS_?! ITS _COMPLETLY _STUPID!"

Gulping once more, Steve took a moment to consider everything. As part of the crew he of course knew the details and was now trying to figure out some way to settle the situation. Round two was supposed to take place in Beauvillage´s Art Workshop, where most of the town´s artists worked and where the decorations for the town´s numerous occasions were made. Many of the town´s artists like Stacy Workalot, Matthew and Natalie Conners also pledged their help for the round. The idea was to show, that Miss Beauvillage wasn´t just about beauty, dance or showing-off. The mayor stressed the importaince of showing all the talents and only the most talented would win first place. Which of course included art, and which was a major problem when Cherie was concerned. Steve knew very well, that Cherie was an anti-talent in art of any kind, not bothering to ever try to make something.

"Cherie... look... its not so bad. From what I know thirty of you passed the first round and only ten have to be crossed out of the second. Plus you´ve scored top marks in the first round. You and four other girls – no one else. This gives you a major advantage. Even if you fail the round completly, you still pass to the next one."

Cherie´s eyes flared.

"THAT won´t do! I´m NOT taking any chances!"she screamed at the top of her lungs, stomping furiously onto the ground.

Cringing once more Steve repositioned himself on Cherie´s bed, turning to one side in fear, eyes tightly shut. Thistime however Cherie took notice of it. Gasping slightly she felt a level of shame. Steve really seemed to be afraid of her. This prompted a strange set of feelings in her heart. A feeling of shame at the outburst and a strong desire to make it right – she really hated to see Steve be afraid like that. Afraid of HER – which was worse. Swiftly closing the distance between them, she sat on the bed and placed a hand on Steve´s back, stroking it gently to calm him down.

"Sorry, Stevie..."she breathed quietly.

Steve opened one eye and shuddered at the feeling of Cherie´s hand.

"I´m not angry at _you_..."she said earnestly.

He turned to her, a small smile appearing on his face.

"I know Cherie..."

Sighing Cherie directed her sight downward.

"I´m just nervous about this... I mean... I ´m not good in art... and I really don´t wanna lose..."

His smile growing larger, he took her other hand.

"I know Cherie... I´ll do anything I can to help you with the second round..."he said soothingly.

Her smile brightening increasingly, she fixed him with an appretiative smile and in one instant embraced him, holding him close.

"You´re the greatest, Stevie..."

An astounded smile spread on his lips, he breathed a contented sigh as he brought his arms around Cherie, holding her dearly.

...

"Brother Nick, we´ve been sitting here for hours."whined Archie, his binoculars still in hand.

"And we´re gonna sit here for a few more, until we find what they´re up to."growled Nick, his eyes also pressed on his binoculars, eyes tightly spying the Tofu yard.

He growled to himself again. For three hours they have been sitting there and nothing out of the ordinary was happening. He wondered if Tex was having more luck with his investigation. The media´s interest in their brother Fred was making it very difficult for him to get any work done at all. In fact just yesterday, he ran from the press and barricaded himself in his office until they left. And just NOW – when there was so much work to be done. Not only there was the small matter of securing a way that no cheating was done over the course of the contest, as brother Fred had made a high emphasis to the matter, there were now two major mysteries to be solved. The first one of course was the matter of brother Fred´s secret admirer, who had sent a yet another love letter to him just one day after the end of round one announcing that her fight for his heart is still on in the contest. The second mystery however was one, that Detective Wiseman knew of and took high priority to solve – the real identity of Lis E Milo. He asked the brotherhood to find as much information as they could regarding the five girls who recieved full score. Something which was relatively easy regarding the first four, but Lis was a giant complex mystery and any intel on her was zero to none. They were trying for the last two days to find some sort of a clue, but to no avail. Though Nick suspected, that some clue is bound to present itself when Lis appears for round two. Right now however, he and Archie were fufilling the surpreme order of their brother and leader of the brotherhood – keep an eye out for any sighns of "Miles – activity". The trouble was that, much like their other investigations this one was showing about the same progress as the others. Michael Miles had returned to the Tofu household three hours ago and since then he hasn´t done a thing besides chatting with the Tofus – both young and old, along with their friends who had come in and since then spent time in the yard with the elders and the accursed animals.

"You´re bound to do _something_, Miles..."grumbled Nick as another growl sounded.

Turning to the source of the growling sound, his eyes fell on Archie who was laughing sheepishly.

"Guess we´ve been here too long, brother. My stomach is already calling for food."

Rolling his eyes, Nick returned his sights back to the Tofu yard.

"Then tell it, that the mission comes first."he said dismissively.

Archie eyed him curiously.

"But brother Nick... aren´t you hungry?"

Nick steeled his sights on the yard, pressing the binoculars to his eyes.

"No."

Suddenly Nick´s stomach made an allmighty growl, one far more louder than Archie´s.

Blushing slightly, Nick did nothing to change his position on the tree or relinquish his hold on the binoculars, stubbornly refusing to admit the obvious. Besides him, Archie gave a deep sigh.

"I still can´t understand why I wasn´t allowed to go along and look for information about this Lis Milo. I mean, you alone would be more than capable of keeping a watch on the enemy camp."

Nick snorted before returning his sight on Archie.

"Yeah... but if you DID go across town, you would´ve definitely brought Emily along. And that would mean only one thing – LOTS of smoochin´ and NO work done."

Archie blushed a deep red, knowing his true intentions were revealed.

"I can´t help it, brother. Since the end of the first round there was so much work, that I´ve only been able to see her in school. I miss being with her you know."

Nick gave a low growl, but a tiny smile was on his face. Dispite the distractions it provided, Nick was genuilly happy for Archie.

"Don´t _you_ miss Mia, brother Nick?"

Archie´s childishly -innocent question made Nick blush in crimson colors.

"Wha... you... of course NOT!"he exclaimed.

As Archie gave him a questioning look, he quickly reoriented his sight on the Tofu yard.

"You wouldn´t catch me dead missing that stuck-up blondie."he replied, trying to be convincing eventhough the lack of Mia´s presence was something he took note of.

It didn´t bother him that much... not really. But he _was_ aware of something missing. Something, that was leaving him mystified since the Outdoor Sales Day...

"Hey you two... how long are you gonna stay up there?"

Nick instantly removed his eyes from the binoculars at the sound of _that_ voice.

"_Speak of the devil._"he thought to himself as he looked down from the tree to the source of the voice, Archie mimicking his movement - his face lighting up in an eluminating smile.

Under the tree two girls were standing. Emily was waving her free hand, her smile capable of lighting up the dark side of the moon as her eyes fell on her beloved boyfriend. Right next to her was Mia, though her arms were folded she fixed them a mock-stern look, but her eyes sparkled with affection as they set on Nick.

"EMMY!"exclaimed Archie as he hastily started to make his way down.

Once on the ground he instantly jumped into her ready arms and cuddled with her lovingly – the bag falling from her hand.

"How in the world did you find us?!"exclaimed Nick, since they have tried to keep their location a complete secret.

Mia actually giggled.

"Seems like you still have a LOT to learn about camouflage, monkey-face. I could see you on the tree from the end of the street."

Nick blushed heavily.

"Humph. Whatever."he said grudgingly.

"How´s the investigation going by the way?"asked Mia while sporting a small smile.

"No progress yet."remarked Archie, still in Emily´s arms.

"Why am I not surpirsed."said Mia, while giggling a bit and shooting a cheeky glance on Nick.

"Wanna swap, blondie?!"replied Nick blushingly.

"Not really, thanks."she replied.

Separating herself from Archie, though not without a loving kiss on the lips - which left Archie swaying in a happy daze, she moved to the bag she brought and delved into its insides, producing packed burgers from Burger Palace.

"Dinner guys."she announced happily.

Archie gave a sound of utmost delight as he once more embraced his girlfriend, though thistime from behind.

"You´re my saviour, Emmy."

Emily giggled giddingly as she turned in the embrace and kissed Archie´s nose.

"Hungry?"

Archie nodded vigorously.

"Very."

Emily smiled down on him.

"We thought as much. Detective Wiseman directed us here. We also figured that you two may be hungry and could use this to help in your mission."she said indicating to the food they brought.

Archie locked eyes with her. His eyes full of endless affection and gratitude.

"You are the most amazing person I´ve ever known... I love you."

Emily giggled and returned his loving gaze.

"And I love _you_, my little detective."she said before catching his lips in a searing kiss.

Mia rolled her eyes a bit before returning her gaze to Nick, who was sitting on the tree still surveying the Tofu yard stubbornly.

"What about you, mega-nose? Coming down for a snack?"

Nick snorted in a defiant and proud way.

"Not on your life. I´m an detective´s aid – the member of the famous Brotherhood of the Wise! I don´t let myself get distracted while on duty!"he recited proudly pumping his chest.

Mia rolled her eyes.

"Suit yourself."she said as she sat down at the base of the tree, next to the place where Emily and Archie sat really close to eachother and grabbed one of the burgers from the bag.

"You really should, brother Nick. Afterall we haven´t eaten anything since lunch."implored Archie even as he reached into the bag for a burger.

"I said NO."growled Nick, but suddenly his stomach gave another growl which could be heared over the entire perimeter around the tree.

Mia sighed to herself as Emily fixed her with a look.

"He´s so stubborn."she remarked quietly and Mia rolled her eyes.

"You can say _that_ again."she growled as she took a bite from her burger.

Emily turned to Archie, who was passing her his burger in an attempt to share – a gesture, that warmed her heart even as she took a bite.

"Thanks, teddy-bear."she said lovingly.

Archie blushed heavily at her pet-name, but Mia suddenly started coughing up the food she almost swallowed when she snorted a laugh. Up on the tree, Nick also started to laugh uncontrolably. So much in fact, that he was finding his position on the tree hard to maintain. Sure enough, he lost his balance and fell down the tree, landing on the grassy ground near Mia. Dispite the small goan he resumed laughing at the pet-name along with Mia who finally stopped coughing. Archie was still blushing when they stopped.

"Oh stop laughing you two. Its a cute pet-name."Emily said, defending him.

"And an accurate one too, considering _your_ size and his."added Mia with a small giggle.

Archie looked at the ground sadly. He was always very touchy about his height, being the shortest boy his age in Beauvillage with only 156 centimeters – even some of the younger kids were growing taller than him. His thoughts were interupted when Emily took him into her loving embrace.

"I don´t mind it one bit."shesaid to Mia in a defiant way.

Shaking her head Mia turned to Nick who was still lying on the ground as his stomach gave another loud growl. She took another burger from the bag and passed it to him.

Nick looked up questioningly, as Mia turned her head the opposite way, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

"Here, monkey-face. Shut up that beast of yours."she said, trying to sound rough, but failing miserably.

With blushing cheeks and a deep sigh he took the hamburger and sat up.

"Thanks, blondie."he mumbled begrudgingly and took a bite.

...

Nighttime had descended on Beauvillage and things were quieting down everywhere. Except the Tofu household. Loud collective laughter rang from Chichi´s room. The gang decided to have a sleepover to catch up. Eventhough they still had school in the morning. But just now all of them – Phil, Chichi, Lily, April, Billy, Lola and Miles were in Chichi´s room, munching on snacks and exchanging funny stories. Miles just finished telling them a memory from his childhood – the time he played in a school play at the Megacity´s South Elementary School. Lily and April swooned at the thought of a tiny Michael Miles dressed up in a strawberry-costume. But when Lola asked if Wiseman had also attended the play, Miles told them the role Wiseman played – a pickle, or rather "sour pickle" as Miles put it to general outburst of laughter.

"And... at the dance scene he danced so clumsily – making such a pirulette, that he lost his balance, banged his head into the side of the wall and rolled down from the stage..."finished Miles and the laughter once more rang across the room.

"Poor... little... Wisey."chortled Lily.

Once the laughter died down, many of them wiped a tear of laughter from their eyes.

"I can´t believe that he was always so clumsy."Lola noted shaking her head.

"From what I hear from Rodney, it was the same with Angie since her childhood. He said that he always patched up after an accident."said Miles with a smile.

Lily, Lola and April gave an affectionate "awwww", while Phil exchanges an eyeroll with Chichi and Billy smiled good-naturely.

"Its nice to see that you´re on good terms with Philips."he said smiling at Miles.

Miles returned the smile and helped himself to a few strawberries – Buba having prepared a special giant bowl of them for him – something he gave her an affectionate hug for.

"He´s an okay guy afterall. I can see why you, Lola and Lily like the dude so much. You guys are lucky to have a homeroom professor like that. Me and Roger had an old hag – which was probably why we skipped school so much."

The gang shared a small laugh.

"Knowing you... I doubt that."said Lola sternly, but her eyes sparkled with humor.

"Anyway guys... I wanted to ask you about the contest. As you know five girls have scored full points and I´d like to know a bit about them. Aside from the obvious one."said Miles getting a thoughtfull look and folding his arms.

Lola grinned.

"You mean Lis?"she asked innocently, while Lily had tried her best not to blush.

Miles gave a jovial shout of approoval.

"You betcha. WOW what a girl! She was dancing beautyfully and she looks...WOW!"

Phil gave a nod smilingly.

"You can say that again."

Now Lily had to pretend to drop her pencil beneath Lola´s table so they wouldn´t see the blush.

"I hope she wins... definitely would love to know who she is. Whoever could she be?"he mused and Lola had to surpress a giggle.

"I´m sure you´ll find out Miles."she said nonchalantly as Lily emerged with her pencil and picked up the notebook she had been scribbling notes to.

Nodding to himself Miles reached for another strawberry.

"You´re right, Lola. Anyways what can you tell me of the other girls who passed like... Hazel Summerville."said Miles reffering to the beautyfull 25 year old girl – the eldest of the five in the lead.

The others looked thoughtfull thinking back to the nicely shaped, red-haired young woman. However Billy, Chichi, Phil, Lily and April didn´t know much about her.

"She´s Angie´s former classmate. Apparently she has had a thing for Philips since their school-days. Former Queen-bee of their class if I remember correctly."said Lola, remembering what Angie told her about it.

"Uh-oh. Bet Angie saw red."remerked Lily, knowing her feelings for their homeroom professor.

"Believe it... anyways from what she said, Hazel is a kind of an air-head. She now works as a cosmetic and an hair-stylist at Beauvillage´s _Lovely Beauty_ salon. From what I heared she´s nice I guess."

Miles mused over what Lola had said.

"Oooookay... next we have Anabell Richerly."

Lily and Lola exchanged dark looks.

"She´s in a year above us."started Lola.

"And a completly stuck-up cow."added Lily.

The boys exchanged tense looks, for the girls looked really angry at her and April apparently shared their views.

"Miss Perfect, straight A´s, overbearing personality and she just wants to be the centre of attention."said Lily, summing it all up for Miles.

"Sounds like a nasty number."noted Miles thoughtfully.

"Bingo. She´s not even interested in dating eighter of you three. In fact, I heared that she would like money as a prize instead."said Lola growling slightly.

"Greedy bitch."remarked April under her breath, but loud enough for everyone hear.

"You got that right, April."nodded Lily fiercely.

"Well... I like greed but not THAT kind of greed."said Miles thoughtfully.

"The two that remain are from our class. Candy and Cherie... I can´t tell which is worst."grumbled Lola as she sat next to Billy.

Billy took her by the shoulder, cuddling her close to him.

"Lola... Cherie is not THAT bad, you know..."he said kindly in defence to his childhood friend.

Lola gave him a look.

"Have you forgotten what she did before we got together?!"

_-Flashback-_

"_HOW COULD YOU, CHERIE?!"yelled Billy, completly beside himself with anger as Cherie was cowed to the wall of their classroom._

"_B... Billy... I... I didn´t mean..."_

"_WHAT?! THE TOFUS ALMOST MOVED AWAY BECAUSE OF YOUR LITTLE TRICK! NOT TO MENTION THE FEUD YOU NEARLY CAUSED! MY DAD WAS READY TO TAKE THIS TO COURT?! HE AND MR TOFU HAD A __**FIGHT**__ ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR LITTLE SCHEME!"he yelled punching the wall in stress._

_He slumped into a chair and grabbed his head._

"_WHY?! Now Lola will never speak to me again..."he moaned into his hands, feeling the tears flowing from his eyes. _

"_Billy... you... you´re better off without her."said Cherie quietly._

_Billy instantly fixed her with an ice-cold glare._

"_I __**love her**__, Cherie! Doesn´t THAT mean anything to you?! I thought that we were friends and that you would respect my feelings!"he said before once more burying his face into his hands._

_Tears were running from her eyes. Her plan failed. She devised a plot with Lily Robins´ boyfriend to get the Tofus out of Beauvillage by making an allmighty row between them and the Hubbubs and also make it appear, that Carl (Lily´s boyfriend) was dating Lola – not only driving Billy away from her but also breaking down her friendship with Lily – something which failed miserably due to the interfierence of those two little brats (Phil and Chichi), who were able to show the entire thing to Lily and the plan went into pieces from there. _

"_Billy, I... I wanted to..."_

_Billy once more fixed her with a glare._

"_I LOVE her, Cherie! I __**LOVE**__ HER! AND NOW YOU´VE TAKEN THAT CHANCE FROM ME! FOR OVER A YEAR I WANTED TO ADMIT MY FEELINGS TO HER BUT JUST WASN´T STRONG ENOUGH TO RISK OUR FRIENDSHIP! I MUST´VE BEEN OUT OF MY MIND TO HAVE LISTENED TO YOU AND YOUR GRAND PLAN! And now... I... I´ve lost her forever..."he finished before once more bringing his hands to his face and sobbing unashamedly._

_Suddenly he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw the person standing infront of him._

"_L...Lola?!"he breathed almost not daring to believe it._

_Lola Tofu was looking at him, small tears in her eyes but smiling gently._

"_Come with me."she said, grasping his hand and leading him out of the empty classroom._

_As they left the classroom, Billy chaught sight of Chichi and Lily, both of them having radiant smiles on their faces. And as Lola steered him towards the opposite way, he saw them whoop and embrace eachother in a gesture of rejoicing over a victory. Barely getting what was going on, he allowed Lola to steer him into an empty classroom. As Lola closed the door and turned to him, Billy racked his brains in an effort to explain everything that had happened._

"_L...Lola... I... "he started to stutter but instantly he felt something incredible._

_Lola crashed her lips onto his, kissing him passionately, Billy taking little time to respond. Bringing his arms around her he held on to her as though she was his life-line, kissing her with all the love in his heart._

"_I know, Billy... I know everything. "she breathed as they separated._

"_Lola... I´m sorry... I... I..."he said but Lola placed her finger to his lips._

"_I know. Billy... I´m sorry too, for believing that trash. We´ll thank those two incredible saviours – Chichi and Lily later. Just now, know one thing... I love you, William Hubbub. I love you with all my heart and soul."she said with a level of passion._

_Billy´s eyes watered again, but thistime in relief. _

"_I love you too, Lola. And believe me... I will never again allow anyone or anything come between us."he said before making his point with a searing, passionate kiss full of never-ending love._

_- End of flashback-_

"Awwwww... that´s the sweetest thing I have EVER heared!"exclaimed Miles throwing Billy and Lola an extremely awed look.

Both of them smiled blushingly.

"Anyways this Cherie seems like an all-out bitch."he said summarizing his opinion.

"You got it, Miles. And the worst thing is, that she is out for YOU."said Lily.

Miles gulped.

"Yeah. And knowing her, she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. In fact, I wouldn´t be surprised if SHE was behind the sabotage duing the first round."said Lola savagely.

Billy tensed.

"Lola... I told you... she changed since then. And..."

"It would´ve been impossible for her."added Chichi drawing all attention to himself.

"The music machine was busted at the time when she was beneath the podium. Whoever broke the machine must´ve been in the backstage."said Chichi in obvious observation.

Lola bit her lower lip.

"I´m still not convinced that SHE has got nothing to do with it, Chichi."she said.

A small moment of silence lingered.

"Anyways. What about this other girl – Candy?"asked Miles innocently.

Now, the majority of the group tensed. Lola, Lily, Billy and Phil tensed and looked at Chichi. April however gave an angry huff and folded her arms. Chichi´s expression remained neutral.

"Did I tough on a sore spot?"asked Miles innocently.

"Major sore spot, Miles."remarked April angerly.

Chichi fixed her with a small look of unease.

"Candy is our classmate, Miles. And Chichi´s first crush."explained Lola while shooting her baby brother a tensed look.

Chichi returned it with a gentle smile.

"I´m okay with it, Lola. Thanks to you."

Lola smiled happily at that as Chichi turned to Miles.

"She was my fist crush. And I´ve had ONE date with her almost three years ago... it was kinda embaressing actually. We went all along the Beauvillage park, sat down in the Rising Sun but strange things were happening. In the end she told me flat out, that I´m too much of a wierd little kid for her and that I would do better to date someone my age."he said unashamedly and without a hint of something bothering him.

Biting her lip once more, Lola remembered what happened after Chichi returned home.

_- Flashback -_

_Lola and Billy stepped into the kitchen hand-in-hand looking at the scene. Pop and Buba were sitting at the table, sombre looks on their faces. Mom was fixing supper, but also looking a bit sad. _

"_He´s at the pond, sweet wildflower."said Pop sadly._

"_I think you should leave him alone right now."noted Buba just as sadly._

_Lola turned to Bully, a fierce expression on her face. _

"_Stay here."she said, before letting go of his hand and walking towards the living room and the door to the yard._

_Billy smiled sadly and sat down next to Pop. _

"_I´m just glad that Lola has a nice boy like you, Billy."remarked Pop sadly._

_Billy smiled in appretiation, knowing already what must´ve gone down. _

"_I know, Mr Tofu."he said sadly._

_Dispite the sadness, Pop fixed him with a kind smile._

"_Pop or Jake to you, Billy."he said while claping his shoulder good-naturedly, a gesture that didn´t go unapretiated by Billy._

_Lola made her way trough the yard – even Cracker, Suzie and Curly were slouched near their stable looking miserable. On the small bench by the pond sat Chichi, head layed in his arms and shoulders shaking – a sight that broke her heart. Coming to him, she sat down next to him and could hear his sobs. _

"_Chichi..."she started._

_Suddenly Chichi threw himself on her, holding on to her as he let all his sadness out. Tears sprung out of her eyes as well as she brought her arms around him and tried her best to console him. After what seemed like ages, Chichi´s sobs subsided and he took a few breaths. _

"_S...sorry, Lola."he said in a quiet voice._

_Lola squeezed him tighter._

"_You have nothing to be sorry about, Chichi."she said gently, desperate to make her baby brother feel better._

"_I... I thought... that she was the one for me..."remarked Chichi, tears once more returning to his eyes._

_Lola stroke his hair gently._

"_I know Chichi... I know... but... true love doesn´t come everytime."_

_Chichi gave another sob and Lola immediately held him closer._

"_Know this though Chichi... you´re my baby brother... and I love you... I will always love you... and one day... you´ll find the one girl, who will love you as much as you love her. Count on it."she said, as Chichi´s crying started anew. _

_Lola fought back her own tears as continued cuddling her beloved 12 year old baby brother and trying all she could to rid him of the pain of his first heartbreak._

_- End of Flashback -_

Biting her lip strongly, Lola resolved never again to see her brother like that again and really hoped, that what she said to him back then would become a reality. Eyeing April, she thought that with her it would be the best chance and was once more proven right in her opinion as April shuffled a bit closer to Chichi. Chichi took note of it and flashed April an appretiative smile one she returned with a shy and blushing one. Phil and Billy eyed him sadly and Lily bit her lower lip. All of them looked at Chichi with levels of pity, except Miles. But Chichi was as cool as ice, sitting cross-legged on his bed and smiling gently.

"No worries guys. That´s years behind me. I learnt my lesson and moved on."he said calmly and it suceeded in calming them all down.

"I can relate to that, Chich."said Miles drawing all attention to himself as everyone in the room eyed him with obvious surprise and curiosity.

Miles smiled a bit before looking at all of them.

"You´re one of my closest friends, guys. My first closest friends besides the old gang from the Jumpers. So I´ll share with you a personal secret of mine. But you gotta promise not to breath a word. Even if you´re captured by the brotherhood and interogated heavily."he said adding the last bit in a dramatic voice.

The gang shared a laugh before nodding and swearing an oath of silence.

Getting himself another handfull of strawberries, he sat down and took a small breath.

"It happened when I was 13 years old. I was very young and as cute and innocent as can be."

The gang exploded in laughter – none of the believing that Miles had EVER been something as innocent. Letting the laughter die down, Miles coughed a bit and continued.

"Anyways then came across my path a girl called Jasmine. She was 17 and stunningly beautyfull. Me and Roger met her when we were hanging out at the Dominique Plaza Square – the place where the... how do the people call us... "_alternative youth_" hung around since I was a kid, they still do as a matter of fact. Anyways she was... well perfect – wonderfull red long hair, cute face, cool attitude, she even had piercings and even a tattoo... I was completly smitten with her, but was too shy to speak to her."

Lily, April and Lola exchanged looks unable to picture a shy Michael Miles.

"And then something bombastic happened... she came to me..."said Miles with a small smile.

Now the boys eyed him in surprise.

"You mean...?"asked Phil in awe.

"Just like that...?"breathed Billy stunned.

"You got together...?"asked Chichi in an amazed voice.

Miles grinned.

"Yup... she told me, that she had her eye on me for quite some time and well... instant lip-lock."

The girls gave out a shocked sigh, as Billy looked stunned, Chichi mused to himself and Phil muttered under his breath "Some guys have all the luck."

"Yup from then on, she became my girlfriend. I was very attracted to the wild-life as she put it and well... I skipped school just to be with her. We did many things together just running around town and everything... we even spent time in the local south-east squat. Heh... she even _de-flowered_ me there..."said Miles blushing heavily and scratching his hair in a sheepish manner.

"WHAAAAT?!"

Chichi´s room practicly shook at the exclamation of the teens – Suzie and Cracker, who were snoozing near Chichi´s bedroom door scrambled downstairs in alarm. Lola and Billy were gaping at Miles completly, Lily´s face was now a mixture of shock and hurt, Phil´s in contrast one of bewilderment, Chichi´s thoughtfull one didn´t change one bit and April´s was full of envy and desire as she kept stealing looks of longing at Chichi, who was so in thought that he took little notice of it.

"So basicly... you were so much in love, that you couldn´t recodnize right from wrong?"he asked in his analytical voice.

Miles looked kinda ashamed of himself as he nodded red-facedly.

"I mean... I never before experienced so much as a loving hug, kiss or anything else..."he said trying to explain himself.

Lily´s eyes were burning with tears both angry and hurt.

"She USED you... ! She made you into her toy!"

Miles glanced at the ground and nodded sadly.

"Yeah... and our misadventures got so bad, that the Megacity Police Department were onto us, for several robberies and then... she... she sold me out... snitched on me to Shark so that she would be pardoned for her crimes..."

"THAT BITCH!"roared Lola completly mad and coming closer to Miles and patted a hand on his shoulder.

"I can now understand why you never shown interest in dating..."she said in a compassionate voice.

"How did you get out of that one, Miles? Or did you end up in the Megacity´s reformatory?"asked Phil quietly.

Miles smiled happily though sadness was still present.

"I would have if not for true friends. You see... my running around with her had a bad effect on my friendship with Roger. In the end, I even fought him and it looked like our friendship was over for good. But then something incredible happened – a girl, our former enemy in school talked with him and they went after me to save me... they and Count Louie managed Shark to get me off, getting the entire story out of me and Jasmine and saying that I was under the influence of an elder girl. So I was left off, but she got punished heavily – being sent to the reformatory. But not before telling me flat out, that she never loved me in the first place..."he said in a hurt voice, bowing his head and silently cursing at himself – dispite the years that went by, that still hurt, and a LOT.

"MILES!"exclaimed Lily as she got up and closed the distance between them taking his head into her arms, hugging him gently but tightly.

Miles´ eyes snapped open and a deep-red blush appeared on his face. He was suddenly feeling something he haven´t felt in ages... if ever... a feeling deep in his heart – something he´d been longing for eversince he was a child. Almost on instinct he brought his arms around Lily´s back and pressed her closer to him, as Lily rested her head on his and gently rubbed the top of his head in a gesture of comfort. As the silent moment lingered, he felt something he hadn´t felt in years – the urge to cry, something he had forbade himself to do more than fifteen years ago. April however let the tears run freely and gave out a few sniffs. Chichi moved closer to her and placed an arm over her shoulder and pressed her to him in an effort to comfort her.

"Miles, we had no idea..."she breathed quietly, Phil and Billy nodding somberly.

"Well of course you didn´t, guys."said Miles peeking over from Lily´s embrace, but doing nothing to let go of her.

"Its my greatest secret afterall."

"So that´s the mess Mel and Roger got you out of."said Chichi quietly.

Miles fixed him with a slightly shocked look.

"They told you?"

Chichi shook his head with a smile.

"Melanie told me when I asked how she befriended you, that she used to hate you and Roger until the time when she helped Roger pull you out of some major trouble. But she didn´t say what was it about, saying that its your private matter."

Miles smiled an overjoyed smile.

"She´s one in a milion."

Catching sight of the gang´s curious looks, Chichi smiled.

"Melanie is their former classmate from elementary school and she took over Miles´ position in the Jumpers after he left the band."he explained.

"Yup. And with the members of the Jumpers... well we´re all best buds. And Mel... well she´s one of the coolest girls I know."said Miles smiling gently.

Chichi sprung into his infamous tenthousand watt smile.

"You can say that again."he nodded, remembering Melanie Beejays – the only girl member of the Jumpers.

"And well besides them and Count Louie... I´ve never had friends like that, until I came to Beauvillage..."said Miles looking at all of them happily, his head still in Lily´s arms.

The gang all returned their most affectionate smiles.

"Wait a moment... Miles? Who is this Count Louie?"asked April curiously.

Chichi grinned. Though he had never met the man before, Miles, Melanie and Roger told him and Don about the eccentric owner of the orphanage.

"The owner of the orphanage Miles grew up in."explained Chichi.

Miles nodded happily.

"And my very first friend."

The remainder of the gang looked at eachother.

"But why Count...?"asked Phil and both Chichi and Miles laughed.

"Heh... he always says, that he´s of a noble European lineage, something equivalent to a Count – so when I was a kid, I started to call him Count Louie. Heh... he was so mad at first, but then, he got used to it. He´s a bit eccentric, but he´s a great guy... manages the entire orphanage by himself. In fact, as I grew older he taught me and Roger spanish. Hehe... in fact, since I was four, he always called me "chico loco"."

April laughed at that, knowing spanish very well herself.

"Heh... you must´ve been quite a little troublemaker."

Lola and Lily shared a gentle affectionate smile, picturing a tiny little mischievous kid that Michael Miles undoubtably must´ve been. Both pictured him to be positively adorable, dispite the racket he could until this day cause. Lily´s grip on Miles tightened.

"Of course not, April..."said Miles innocently and the gang once more shared a laughter, the tense moment since Miles confessed his first and only love was lightened.

"Anyways, as for the contest... well if the winner chooses me, well its only one date afterall... It would take much more than that for me to give my heart to someone..."

Over Miles´ head Lily tried her best to conceal her frown.

"Maybe you´ll be surprised, Miles. There just might be a girl there, who will show you true love."said Lola while flashing a discreete wink to Lily.

Miles smiled upon her.

"Thanks Lola. Well you never know... but I´m just being carefull. Afterall like Count Louie used to say to me – Never forger, chico loco... man in love - mucho estupido."

As Chichi´s room once more filled with laughter, Lily took a moment to think even as she still held Miles´ head.

"_Believe me, Miles... I´ll can give you all the love you needed since you were a tiny troublemaker._"she thought as her grip on him once more tightened.

...


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Welcome back everyone. We know you´ve been eagerly waiting for this moment..."announced Lola into the microphone.

"So without further ado... Miss Beauvillage – Round Two BEGINS!"added Angie and a large applause sprang.

Beauvillage´s Art Workshop builing was packed full with people. Chichi and his crew worked tirelessly for the past two days to make its numerous sections fit to accomodate the fans as well as the numerous TV equipment. As Trashbin pointed out, this round will be a tricky one for them, since there were 3 great rooms where the girls would soon start their works of art. And one main room, where Angie and Lola would be narrating everything. Both girls really had to hand it to the Genius-boy and his crew – they really outdone themselfs. Everything was looking very professional – in fact, Trashbin and his men stated, that they never even saw someone take to the task with so much enthusiasm and to such great effect. Right now the main room was packed full of people, all of them clapping and overjoyed. Both Lola and Angie were wearing matching overalls provided by Miles – Lola´s were deep red and Angie´s bright green – a witty idea of Lola´s in order to blend in more with the artistic atmosphere of the second round.

Smiling at the people as the applause died down, Lola brought the microphone to her smiling lips.

"Aaaalrighty... let´s give a warm welcome to our three judges – Rodney Philips..."

Rodney stepped into the view and waved to the cheering crowd. He also wanted to blend in with the atmosphere. He was wearing a pair of simple blue trousers, black and white sneakers, black t-shirt and a white professor coat. His hair was scruffy and he had a boyish grin on his face – something which made Angie swoon, her cheeks blood-red. Focused on the crowd, Rodney failed to notice this, even when Lola had to hold Angie to support her for she was about to faint. Quickly recomposing herself, Angie gripped the microphone as Rodney took his place next to them, determined not to look at him.

"Frederick Wiseman..."she announced as the crowd sprang into applause again.

Wiseman came into view looking slightly comical in a white coat, which contrasted with his grey trousers, the "detective" sunglasses still present on his face.

"And last but not least... Michael Miles."announced Lola just as Wiseman took his place besides Rodney.

As Miles came into view, the crowd´ s applause was mixed with various degrees of laughter and approoval, just as Lola and Angie turned to look at him. Angie had to surpress a giggle while Lola resisted the urge to smack her forehead in exaspiration. Miles indeed wanted to blend in. He was dressed in a costume, which resembled that of the french painter – with a long-sleeved beige dress that reached to his knees and shown his blue trousers and simple sneakers. On his head was a large blue hat, symbolic to the french painters and under his gleaming ever-present sunglasses he had sticked a fake black mustache. Rodney chuckled to himself as Wiseman gaped, his jaw nearly hitting the ground at what he saw. Miles made his way towards the crowd, waving and gesturing with his hands towards the cheering crowd.

"Yo, peoplezz... tiz´ I – ze famouz _Milezzasso_..."he said in a cheezy french accent.

The crowd instantly boomed with laughter and even Angie and Rodney couldn´t bear it anymore, joining in the laughter. Lola was trying her hardest not to express any emotion at all as Wiseman came up to him.

"Wait a minute... what´s _that_ supposed to be?"he asked in complete confusion looking at Miles up and down.

"Wazz it luuk like, _Wiseylangello_?"asked Miles grinning at his fellow-judge as the crowd´s laughter doubled at Miles´ nickname for Wiseman.

Rodney almost went to the knees with pure laughter and Angie leant on to him for support for she was close to doing so herself. Lola swiftly stepped between the two men, before they could have a chance to start bickering like they always did – or rather Wiseman always did with Miles provoking him more and more. Swiftly taking control of the situation, she adressed the crowd.

"Now that we have the _judges_ here... let´s take a small looksie at our contestants."she said signaling to one of the cameramen off set, who nodded and gave a signal trough his headset.

Suddenly the large projector by the wall came to life and started projecting the statistics of the first round, which were programmed by Phil just yesterday. Phil himself was sitting just besides the projector, which was linked to his laptop. On his head was a headset with a small mic placed near his mouth. Wiping a tear of laughter from his eye, he quickly pressed a side of the headset closer to his ear.

"Okay, Trashbin. You guys can link up to my laptop."he said quietly into the mic, already starting another program on his laptop.

"_We read ´ya, Phil. Working on it. The cameras are in position and syncing as we speak._"said Trashbin over the conncetion.

Clicking on his computer for a bit, he made three images appear on the wall, where the projector was pointing. The images were showing the going-ons in the other three rooms of the Art Workshop building – the rooms where most of the institution´s work was one – the three workrooms. Each was stocked full of people, contestants and fans alike.

"As everyone already know, the objective of this round is for our ladies to produce a work of art within the two hour limit. As not to limit their creativity, we´ve had our fair contestaints choose what they will be doing and have our very capable crew aqquire them all they would need for it."explained Rodney to the crowd, pointing to the wall and the three live images.

"For simplicity sake, we´ve divided our contestants into three teams, each working in their own working place. As such, we the judges will divide and each of us will be going over each room seperately. But not alone."he said smilingly gesturing to the space where the three judges came from.

From the backspace, accompanied by applause came Matthew and Natalie Conners, Stacy Workalot – the Art Workshop´s most gifted artists. Matthew waved happily at the people, while Natalie seemed to be shy a bit in the wake of all the attention. Stacy however, dressed in a large Home-fix-it T-shirt waved and showed off for all its worth. Phil flashed a happy grin at his parents, one his father happily returned, his mother however was too preoccupied to do so, instead she stepped closer to Lola and Angie, her face covered in a crimson blush.

"Ladies and gentlemen allow me to introduce, Beauvillage´s most gifted artists – Matthew and Natalie Conners and Stacy Workalot."announced Rodney proudly and even those from the crowd – like Mom, Pop or the Hubbubs, applauded the trio spiritedly.

"Our respective guests will accompany the judges and give their opinion on the girl´s projects and techniques."

"But that´s not all..."boomed Wiseman suddenly.

"To ensure that NO cheating will be done, I took the liberty of procuring the perfect precaution – ladies and gentlemen it is my immense pleasure to introduce my three brothers – the members of the Brotherhood of the Wise – Nick Meanfull, Archie Smartson and Tex Workalot."said Wiseman gesturing broadly to the place where Nick, Tex and Archie were already emerging.

Lola sighed to herself – she knew that the three "wonders" will be attending and she still didn´t think it would be a good idea. All three of them were wearing their detective coats and the brotherhood´s signature sunglasses. Applause rang, mostly from the younger population of the crowd like Oliver, Liam, Abbygail, Emily and surprisingly even Mia, who was shouting completly overjoyed and waving at Nick happily.

Each of the brotherhood acknowledged the applause in their own way. Nick put up a tough face and folded his muscular arms - assuming an authoritative stance. Tex on the other hand stood absolutely still as though dumbfounded about the large wave of attention going his way. Archie was however lively enough for the both of them – jumping up and down and waving to everyone happily, especially one place in particular – the place where one Emily Sweetlong was sitting next to April, Chloe and Mia. Emily smiled a radiant smile and blew him a kiss, something which made Archie blush deeply – his heart swelling with joy.

Wiseman stepped next to his three brothers as the applause died down.

"My three brothers will be assighned to each sector in order to ensure that no cheating will be done."said Wiseman proudly.

As a few seconds of silence hung in the room, Lola quickly once more took hold of the situation.

"Now for the sectors themselfs... Judge Miles...?"she said turning to Miles, who nodded smilingly.

"Yezz, mademoiselle Lola... ehm... ze zectors zhemzelfs are zhezze – ze paintzer zector..."he said still in the cheezy accent, gesturing to the first of the three sectors displayed by the projector.

Phil got the hint and displayed the sector, so that it alone would be visible on the wall. There, in the spacy room was seen a lot of working tables and make-shift canvas-holders behind each was a small chair. Many of the contestants were standing there – some looking nervous, some determined, some wearing cassual cloathing, some clothing suited to their work. Candy Liferich was there too, dressed in pure white head to toe overalls, which are commonly used by expert painters when painting a building and googles settled on the top of her head.

"Ze girlz zhere will show zheir immense paintzer skils each making zometzing _ze-la-wooooah_..."said Miles humorously gesturing up and down and drawing many laughs among the crowd.

"Zzzzzzecooond iz ze zzzculptzer zector..."he announced happily.

Once more Phil displayed the live picture of the sector. More work tables were there, though it was clear, that the scupltury and ceramics was done in that sector – especially with the prize works done by Stacy Workalot.

"Ze girlz will make wonzerous workz uzzing zheir very, very craftzy handzzz..."said Miles, moving his face towards the crowd and twirling the end of his proxy mustache between his fingers, grinning like a maniac.

"Aaaaand lazt, butz my perzzzonal favourite... ze alternative workshop..."he exclaimed wildly, as soon as the applause died down again.

Phil displayed the last sector, showing the largest room of the three, where each corner and work-place had some other material piled up next to the contesting girls. Some were sitting behind giant worktables, some standing next to a greater space with material besides them. Like Lis E Milo for instance. The girl was standing-out from the others not just in appearance, for it seemed that she too, decided to "dress-up" for the occasion – wearing a large buttoned-up yellow/green flanell shirt, its sleeves rolled up exposing her delicate hands right up to her elbows, the mask now matching the color of her flannel shirt and her hair made into several _nicely spinned buns_ (courteousy of her best friend´s capable hands) and long dark-blue overall pants which slightly covered her black and white slipper-like shoes. Besides her was a giant pile of jet-black rubber tires and a live model of a skelleton, which was commonly found in Elementary schools. Also besides her was a dark brown bag, which was packed full of who knew what.

Cherie, who was seated at a work-table near her, dressed in cassual clothing of red and black, fixed her with a death-glare.

"Ze girlz will show zheir real cratfyness-ness and _ness_... zhey will make a work of art in unuzzual wayzz... ooooh I´m lookin´forward to zzeeein´ what zhey cook up..."finished Miles with a joyous exclamation, litterally jumping up and down – something which seemed to reflect upon the crowd too.

Angie and Rodney stepped-up as the crowd´s applause once more died down.

"As all of you undoubtably know, 30 contestaints out of the original 60 have passed from the first round. "said Angie gesturing to the wall and Phil instantly displayed the point score from round one.

"Right you are, Angie. I have to say, that we judges had a hard time last round. Each contestant of the dance round could be given a total of thirty points – ten from each of the judges. However only five girls have made full points."said Rodney and Phil immediately displayed the five onto the wall.

There was Cherie with number 33, Candy with number 7, Hazel with number 52, Anabell with number 40 and Lis with number 22 – all showing thirty points added to their collumns. Nodding to a gesture from Philips, Phil displayed the remainder of the contestants. Unlike the lucky five, the top of that group was still short by 8 points, the others variating between 15 to 20 points.

"The pass requirement was 15 points. In the spirit of fair play, we decided to give equal chance to everyone during this round – those girls of you who have gotten only the required 15 points don´t despair. This round will have a total of 15 points to earn from us – five from each judge – this way, the skills will decide your passage. The requirement to pass from this round will be 30 total points."

In the various work-rooms where the girls were assembled trepedation was present. Since some of them only passed with 15 points, this would mean that they would really have to score full points in order to get trough the round. But even girls who did better in the dance round were nerous. Some flashed a few menacing and jealous looks at the five girls who scored full marks – neighther of them had to earn a single point to pass on.

"This way we´ll be truly able to pick up those who are fit to pass to the next round."offered Rodney kindly.

"Zzzzo, prepaaair yourzzelfz zweeeet girlzzz... for round zzwoo beginzz zzooon enough..."finished Miles once more twirling his mustache and moving his face closer to the cameras.

...

In the alternative room, the girls were getting prepared for the round with Chichi and his crew bringing in the various supplies for the girls. During yesterday´s morning before school or work, all the girls assembled in the Workshop to prepare for today´s round. All of them were asked to list the material they would need for their work – the vast Beauvillage firms and shops pledged to aid the contest in any way they can – in this case, Chichi, Miles and mayor Haveitall were more than happy to take them up on the offer. So as it was, since everyone knew what they would be doing for the art round, that the girls simply listed the material needed and the crew would supply it for the round. The only girl not present for that was Lis, but her material list was supplied to Chichi by his big sis. The blonde-haired boy smirked to himself as he and Victor _manoovered_ the small waggon filled with old rubber tires towards the contest´s mystery-girl.

"Well here they are, Lis."said Chichi in a happy voice, drawing her attention to them.

Smiling brightly at them, she nodded.

"Thank you boys."

Both boys returned the smiles.

"I´m keeping my fingers crossed, Ms Lis. I really hope you´ll win the contest."said Victor earnestly, his cheeks reddening.

Chichi smirked again. He noticed, that Vic had taken a liking to her since the end of the first round. Since then, Victor had asked him quite a few times, if he knows the mystery-girl´s identity. Chichi suspected, that he had developed a small crush on her. Lis beamed brightly and gently ruffled Victor´s black hair – the gesture making the young boy blush a brilliant shade of red.

"Thanks. I´m happy to know that someone is rooting for me. I´ll do my best."she said in a gentle voice.

Chichi allowed a small moment to pass, during which Victor´s blush couldn´t possibly get redder. Then he clapped his hands drawing attention to himself.

"Ok. Vic, could you go and help Joe? I´ll deal with this ok?"

Victor snapped his head to him as though just waking from a pleasant dream.

"Okay, Chichi..."he said quietly and made his way backward.

Chichi waited until Victor was out of earshot before turning to Lis.

"I´m happy that ol´ Workalot had given these from his recycling workshop. But let me tell you, the skelleton wasn´t easy to get a hold of. Miles had to call in one of his contacts to get it."he said gesturing to the life-size school model of a human skelleton placed after her.

Lis looked at it, then returned her sights on Chichi.

"Thank him for me. I was afraid, that you wouldn´t be able to get it."

Chichi grinned mischievously and moved closer to her.

"Come on... you know him better than that, _Lily_."he said quietly.

Lis gasped and gawked at him. Chichi snickered.

"Did you really think I wouldn´t notice?"

Her blush evident even with the mask, she shook her head.

"So Lola didn´t breath a word?"

Chichi´s grin widened.

"She didn´t need to. I _have_ eyes and ears. And also enough memory to find out, that one of Balthazar´s books is missing from our Hidehole shelf. Plus Oscar´s gemstone necklace only confirmed my suspition – you´ve used Green Magic on your hair to make it more straight instead of your ussual bushy one. Plus I think I know WHY you´ve entered – or rather... for _who_..."

Blushing slightly, Lis sighed and chuckled lightly.

"You really have me all figured out don´t you, Chichi Tofu."

The pair exchanged a small laugh and Chichi busied himself with unloading the rubber tires.

"I think I know what you´re attempting to do with this, but I´ll let myself be surprised."

Chuckling happily, Lis ruffled his hair affectionately.

"I´m not sure I anything would surprise _you_, detective Chichi."

Chichi rolled his eyes a bit.

"Please don´t call me that... afterall... I´m not _Wise_ enough to be a detective."

As the pair laughed once more, they were unaware that a pair of eyes were watching them – positively red with rage.

"I can´t believe this. She even befriended the little brat too?!"grumbled Cherie to herself, convinced that the accursed mystery-girl had scored herself a yet another advantage.

Hearing her name called she spun her head to see Steve, Nina and Zoe make their way to her.

"I hope you all know what to do."said Cherie venomously as they converged around her, still eyeing Lis and Chichi menacingly.

Nina and Zoe both nodded, but Steve was looking restless.

"Please Cherie... there´s no need to do that. We could get chaught and I´m not sure Detective Wiseman was fooling around when he said that cheating would be punished harshly."

"Oh nonsence, Stevie. We´re too smart to be chaught."she said in assuring voice.

Nina however eyed her skepticly.

"I´m not sure about that, Cherie. Even the Brotherhood of the Wise will be on guard..."

Cherie loosed a small humorous laugh.

"Come on, Nina. Those three little simpletons? They have NO chance of catching us. Trust me."

Nina seemed to be assured, but Steve was not so much – he was having real reservations about the entire thing. However he steeled himself, remembering the promise he gave to his precious Cherie.

"All right, Nina you make your way to the painter sector. You know what to do?"asked Cherie, grinning maliciously.

Nina nodded smilingly and made her way past the various people, who came to wish luck to the contesting girls and out of the sector door.

"Zoe... you have all that you need for the sculptur sector?"

Zoe nodded grinning as maliciously as Cherie.

"You bet. They won´t know what hit ´em."she affirmed and spun on her heel, making her way out of the room just like Nina did.

Cherie turned to Steve with the most satisfyed smile.

"And I´ll take this sector – in fact, I´ve already made my first round around the place already. I can´t thank you enough, Stevie."she said placing a hand on Steve´s shoulder.

Steve shuddered at the contact, his cheeks reddening.

"You´re welcome, Cherie. But I still think, that there was no need for this. Afterall, you´re the greatest girl in Beauvillage – you would win this fair and square."he said in an honest voice.

Now it was Cherie´s turn to blush slightly. For some reason hearing it from Steve made her heart warm over. Her smile turned more gentle, and eyes sparkled in appretiation.

"Thanks Stevie."she said in a soft voice.

Steve returned her smile and nodded.

"I´d better get to the crew – don´t want to raise suspition. In any case... I´m keeping my fingers crossed Cherie."

As he spun and made his way trough the room, Cherie´s eyes followed him, thinking about what he had been saying to her for the past few days.

"_What a nice guy he is... it feels so good to have his help and support. Maybe he´s right about it... maybe I should just take my chances and simply depend on how good I do..._"she mused as she saw him dissapearing behind the door – an affectionate smile playing on her lips.

However right after him, Chichi Tofu made his way but not without waving to someone. Turning her sights toward the place he was waving, she saw Lis waving back besides several rubber tires, a skelleton model and a crate filled with who knows what. Her eyes instantly flashed and a frown formed on her face.

"_NOT A CHANCE! This girl is going DOWN! Along with everyone else, who dares to steal my first place!_"she thought furiously.

Its back to the plan then and as Cherie saw the people slowly making their way to the make-shift seats, the cameramen running about and the forms of Michael Miles and Natalie Conners entering the room. Behind them someone was hurrying after them. However the tiny person tripped on one of the camera cables and fell right onto the floor, sliding on his belly towards the pair. Cherie surpressed a derisive snicker as she saw the tiniest of the Brotherhood get to his feet and dustying himself.

"_Oh, this is gonna be easier than I thought._"she smirked to herself as she kept her eyes on Archie.

...

The clocks in the four sectors, synchronized by Chichi were silently beeping and the crowd in all four rooms began to count down the final seconds before the start – the excitement in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Just a few seconds now. Five, four, three, two, one...

BEEEEEEEEEEP

A mighty beep rang trough the Art Worshop´s all four rooms – supplied by the alarm Titus Hubbub brought in and installed with his son and wired to the clocks Chichi and Phil installed. A two hour limit was now on and counting down. The girls wasting not a moment and instantly busied themselfs with work with the applause of the crowd, who were watching eagerly even as a calm music started to play in order to help them "access their creative spirits" as Mom Tofu nicely put it.

"Aaaaand here we go. Our contestants have now just two hours to show just how much talent they have in the fields of art. We´re looking forward to seeing their creations and wish all of them luck with their works. As you very well know, you – our guests can freely move between the sectors to support your favourite contestants and also see their work in progress."said Angie happily, already getting into the spirit herself.

"With our judges and their guests already in their respective sectors..."said Lola pointing to the large picture showing the three images which showed just what was going on in the other rooms of the building.

The painter sector shown the girls hard at their work with Detective Wiseman looking around curiously at each and every work – positively amazed at what was done in front of his very eyes...

Behind him walking was Nick, his eyes darting vigilantly from place to place as though determined to detect any small hint of cheating that could be done in the room. Behind them was Matthew Conners, smiling pleasantly and looking around in slight amazement.

The sculpture sector was pretty much the same, with Rodney Philips going around along with Tex and his mother – who were almost the same height. And of course the alternative sector with Miles, Natalie Conners and Archie.

"...we also felt that the two hour limit may be too much for you folks to bear."finished Angie smiling at the crowd.

"That is why, we decided to make a small interview with another one of our town´s talented artists. Ladies and gentlemen it gives me great pleasure to introduce Mrs Matilda Longline."

The elderly lady came in accompanied by a large cheer. Smiling pleasantly she gave out an air of lively energy many could envy her, dispite her very high age – in fact she was the oldest living person in Beauvillage. As most people knew however, she was also an artist – a painter, who was relatively well known across the country, but she retired over twenty years Lola and Angie talked with Trashbin and the people involved with this, it became very apparent, that Mrs Longline´s fame still endured. So it became upon Lola and Lily to ask Mrs Longline to come out of retirement for the duration of two hours – something the elderly lady did with great eagerness. She also turned out to be the perfect narrating help for the two girls, not only knowing so much about art and its history not just in Beauvillage but also the entire country at large, but also having a small personal charm of her own – fitting in with the two young girls quite nicely. During the first five minutes many of the crowd used their oppoturnity to move between sectors – younger ones more than the elder, who seemed to be very interested in what Mrs Longline had to say. Moving into the painter sector Chloe, Oliver, Liam, Mia, Emily, Alice and Maurice could barely contain their excitement as they came nearer to the action, though still being behind a low make-shift boundary made to separate the viewers from the contestants, though it followed the walls of the large room in order to provide a view from every angle. In each corner of the room was a large camera, with one of Trashbin´s men operating it, carefully taking in the contestants and their progressing work. Wiseman was slowly walking between the girls going "oooh" and "aaah" at each one, still mystified. Matthew Conners was also walking and seemed to be taking in the girls´ technique as though hoping to pick up something new. Nick however was standing at the side of the room, arms folded and a grumpy look on his face.

"How´s it going, Nick?"asked Oliver as soon as they reached him.

Nick scrowled and fixed them a look.

"Bad. Nothing that I can detect. _Yet_."he added returning his gaze to the contestants.

Mia, Chloe and Emily giggled.

"Determined one."said Chloe mischievously.

"You have _no_ idea."nodded Mia, rolling her eyes.

Nick´s eyes flashed a bit and instantly snapped his head at her, fixing her with a small glare.

"I have a duty to do here, blondie. What d´you expect me to do?! Sit _down_?!"

Mia once more rolled her eyes and let out an exaspirated sigh.

"That was supposed to be a _compliment_ you dumb ape. But actually you _should _sit down. Just gonna stand here for two hours?"

Nick steeled his face.

"That´s _exactly_ what I´m going to do."

Mia slapped her palm on her forehead, the others watching the scene confusedly.

"Oh suit yourself... see if I caaaaa..."

Giving out a small yelp she ducked as a small ammount of paint flew right towards her face and splatted on the wall behind her – green color sliding down on the wall. The others quickly looked for the source, but Nick couldn´t help but giving out an amused laugh just as Mia raised her head back.

"What´s up blondie... afraid of some paint...HEY!"he yelped as another shot of paint hit the side of his head, yellow color splatting on his sunglasses and face.

This time it was Mia who was overcome with laughter, even as Nick grumbled and reached for a handkerchief in the breast pocket of his detective robes and proceeded to wipe the color off his sunglassed before he even thought about his face.

"Incoming!"warned Liam swiftly and the entire rest of the gang ducked as another blobs of paint flew towards them.

Nick however was too preoccupied cleaning his sunglasses and Mia too preoccupied laughing to duck in time and the pair was instantly bombarded by various shots of paint. Opening her eyes right after getting a facefull of blue, Mia looked for the source of the paint – attack. Sure enough she didn´t have to look far and her face instantly contorted in rage.

"Watch what you´re doing you stupid air-head!"she exclaimed, showing her balled fist for emphasis, her eyes flashing and Nick quickly followed her line of sight, his eyes flashing just as much.

"Yeah! Watch where you´re splatting that paint, Candy!"he exclaimed angerly, glaring the said girl in much the same way her little sister was.

Candy was just before them, her white overalls already coded in various paint, the hood of the overalls over her head and googles firmly on her eyes. Infront of her was a large canvas, which was coded with various shades of paint, besides her on a small worktable many cups filled with paint and many paintbrushes of various size. She had taken to the task of painting so spiritedly, that the paint was flying here and there as she painted with her both hands, switching paintbrushes and colors in a rapid manner. Turning her head towards them, she fixed them a happy smile still not removing her googles.

"Sorry guys. I just want to make it on time."she said in a happy voice.

Mia flared again letting out an angry howl of pure rage.

"You have a TWO HOUR LIMIT, you brain-damaged supercow!"

Nick nodded and pointed to the large clock which was counting down the time.

"You still have one hour and fiftytwo minutes left. You don´t need to splat paint around."he said angerly.

Candy however shook her head, the happy smile not leaving her face which was also coded in small dots of paint.

"I appretiate that you came here to cheer me on, guys. But can´t chat now... time is short and I gotta work, work, work..."she said happily before returning to her painting and paint once more started to fly all over the place.

Thistime however the entire group was ready and made their escape, moving quickly along.

"Ooooh! I HATE her! Why in the hell do I have to be related to such a stupid, crazy, brain-damaged, hyperactive and air-headed COW!"she ranted quickly, not bothering to restrain her anger and punching the wall in rage.

The others backed away a bit, not wanting to get chaught into her rage. Nick however didn´t.

"Dammit! Look at me! I got paint all over my face! Now what am I gonna...?"

She was suddenly interupted by Nick placing a hand on her shoulder. Looking at him, she saw that he reached again into his coat with his free hand and pulled out another handkerchief.

"Here... "he said simply passing her the handkerchief, deliberately looking the other way.

Mia blushed deeply and for a few seconds didn´t move a muscle. Slowly she reached and took the handkerchief from his hand.

"Thanks."she said in a voice so quiet, that Nick could barely hear it.

"No problem."he said, fixing his eyes on the other contestants, not wanting to show his blush.

Mia instantly busied herself in wiping her face and Nick swiftly looked around for any sighn of cheating. The rest of the gang exchanged surprised looks. Chloe and Emily however smirked at eachother.

"Dammit! Still no sighn of cheating! Better go mingle in to get a better look on things."said Nick looking at Mia and he made to leave.

"Wait Nick."she said suddenly, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Her deep blush getting more intense she moved the hand still holding the handkerchief towards his face.

"You´ve got some paint there."she said as she made to wipe the paint.

Nick was rooted on the spot as Mia wiped the paint, but closed his eyes a bit in response to the surprisingly gentle touch he felt on his face.

"Okay. All done. You´re paint-free."said Mia quietly withdrawing her hand.

Looking at her in amazement, he nodded.

"Thanks Mia."he said quietly, his cheeks blood red now.

Mia was blushing as hard as he was, but still fixed him a small smile.

"Can´t have a great detective like you looking like a slob, can we?"

The pair´s eyes remained glued on eachother, everything around them forgotten.

"Awwwwwwww."

Nick and Mia were swiftly brought back down to earth as they heared the collective exlamation of their classmates – blushes once more deepening.

"This is so _cute_."breathed Alice.

"I didn´t expect THIS."snickered Oliver.

"Yup. Its love allright."nodded Chloe happily.

The last comment did it. Both Nick and Mia instantly snapped their heads in their direction, almost identical scrowls and death-glares aimed at their classmates. They gave a collective gulp and all of them backed a step or two.

"Didn´t see nothing."stammered Liam his hands intfort of him in a gesture of surrender.

"Yeah... we... we´re just going to..."stuttered Maurice pointing behind him with his thumb.

"The... the sculpture sector..."said Chloe quickly, already moving backwards, the others following her gesture.

"Y...yeah... see ya´ later..."said Oliver sheepishly.

"Bye."said Emily.

Together as one, the group swiftly made their way towards the door backwards and dissapeared out the door. Their eyes following their retreating forms, neighter Nick or Mia´s expressions changed. Still glaring both of them – along with everyone else didn´t notice Nina behind them moving calmly towards the large table full of paint, where all the contestants making a painting were getting their color when needed. Quickly looking from side to side and confident no one saw her, she poured something into the paint from a tiny bottle in her hand.

...

Even those watching the show on television could barely contain their excitement. As the two hour limit was shortening, the cameras were switching from one sector to another showing the girls at their work and the works were turning out to be more and more impressive as they were progressing.

The girls in the painter sector were showing amazing painting skills, some drawing according to models they have brought in, others working from mere memory or idea with just as impressive results. The sector seemed to be alive in various colors. The judges switched their placed a couple of times in order to look around the other girls´ works and their guests went along happily as well. Lola and Angie took this oppoturnity to incorporate the guests into their narrating. Chichi and Phil took some time-off from their crew duties in order to mingle a bit. They were instantly joined by April, who came along with Oliver and Chloe. Flashing a smile at his sister, Chichi made his way after the others as they were going for the sculpter sector. Waving at him, Lola turned back and wanted to help Angie, who was looking at the various paintings with Mrs Longline and Matthew Conners, when an amazing cheer rang across the room. Looking at the place where the people were staring and pointing, the camera instantly turned and focused on a slender 20 year old girl who was wearing a loose short-sleeved yellow shirt and a pair of baggy bright green pants. On her head was a matching green baseball-cap, which was turned backwards, hiding most of her short light-brown hair, some of which were sticking from beneath the cap. Her name was Tammy Hoodwood and right now she had most of the attention of the sector as she proceeded to spray a yet another shade of paint on her plaster canvas – which was supplied by Home-fix-it. Even Rodney Philips who came in to have a look was completly stunned at the picture spray- painted by her talented hands – a picture of several people behind a few blocks and a small landscape in the distance.

"And it looks like our girls are very talented in street-art as well."said Lola with purpose and smiled at the two guests between the judge.

"Definitely. I must say, that I am unfamiliar with this line of art, but the way I see it done here, it certainly has its magic."nodded Mrs Longline, eying the work in awe.

"I agree. Not to mention that this type of art has been ostracized too many times in our country. Certainly many conservative people can´t see the artistic value of such a wonderous work."noted Matthew smilingly.

Some of the other competitors in the sector scrowled at the attention Tammy was getting and begrudgingly returned to their work as though determined to find some way to out-do her. As the foursome moved on they narrowly avoided being splattered by paint. Looking at the source they gasped at Candy´s attempt of a work of art. Candy noticed them staring and flashed them a brilliant smile. As they looked on her canvas Lola had to surpress a giggle while the remaining three were almost shocked at what they saw. On her canvas, blob after blob were various paints litterally splattered everywhere.

"I...I´m not sure what to make of _this_."noted Matthew, looking confusedly to see some sort of point or technique and failing miserably.

"Brilliant, isn´t it?"asked Candy, obviously taking their reactions completly the wrong way.

"That´s one way to put it."said Rodney mildly scratching his head.

Candy stood aside to allow them a better view of her work and gestured to it proudly.

"I call it – _The Dream_."

Rodney, Matthew and Mrs Longline flashed eachother confounded looks.

"No offence, sweetie... but it looks like a _nightmare_ to me..."said Mrs Longline weakly.

Lola for a briefest second forgot about professionality and allowed herself a small giggle.

Outside the sector Chichi, Phil and April were just making their way towards the scupltor sector when they noticed a gang of girls going their way, obviously for the painter sector.

The threesome recodnized them as the girls from the class one year above them, but Phil suddenly tensed. As did the taller girl in the middle. She was nicely shaped, wearing a light-blue jeans, a nice pink t-shirt and a short sleeved black jacket over it. Her face was pleasant enough and her blonde hair was long and wavy and the ends of it had a small shade of pink to it. As soon as she spotted Phil, her cheeks took on a brilliant shade of red. Phil also blushed a crimson shade of red. Chichi and April shared a small mischievous look as Phil´s gaze locked on with the girl´s. The other girls who were with her shared a small giggle as they looked at the three of them. Suddenly the girl made a move forward, quickly running to the painter sector with her friends following her, giggles still present. Chichi was unable to suropess a small chuckle as they left. Phil stood there paralyzed on the spot.

"Her name is Nicolette."said April, breaking the silence.

Phil´s head spun to her.

"H...how do you know...?"he asked dumbfounded.

April giggled a bit.

"Many of the upper-class girls look up to Chichi and you – they follow up your little projects. A few of them asked me a bit about you two..."she explained, her face getting a slightly sly look.

"...aaaaand as some of them remarked, this girl Nicolette has a slight interest in _you_..."she finished slyly flashing him a mischievous look.

Chichi did a very miserable job of surpressing a snort of laughter.

Phil however turned, his face completly red.

"Whatever..."he whispered and made his way towards the sculpter sector without another word.

April giggled and turned to Chichi.

"Phil seems to be having a small crush."

Chichi grinned at her.

"As I noticed. And already took a small advantage of..."he said grinning shamelessly.

April giggled.

"You naughty little lion...teasing your best friend?"she said affectionately fixing him a mock-stern smile.

Chichi took on an innocent look but inwardly liking this petname – one that was commonly used by his elder sister during his childhood as a reference to his sighn – a Leo.

"Not at all... just evening the score, that´s all."he said evenly, happy to be able to get back at Phil for teasing _him_ about April.

They shared a small laugh. Then Chichi held up his hand.

"Come on... wouldn´t want to miss the excitement, would we? Afterall I have to get back to work in twenty minutes, before the clocks hit zero."

Inwardly whooping in pure joy, April allowed a small tinge of red grace her cheeks as she took his hand – positively giddy about it. Chichi was grinning his infamous tenthousand watt grin as he turned happily and hand-in-hand with April made his way to check out the sculpter sector.

...

The clock on the sectors were counting down the final seconds – THREE, TWO, ONE...

BEEEEEEEEEEP!

The loud beep signalled the end of the two hour limit and every girl obedietly stopped their work.

"Aaaaand that´s it! Our girls´ limit has come to a close."announced Angie to the large cheer to the crowd, even the guests and the judges as well.

"We will now have a fifteen-minute pause to give our contestants a moment to rest. In fifteen minutes our judges will be going over each sector and each work and give their verdict – so you guys watching this at home, stay tuned to see how well our girls faired."said Lola into her microphone.

The man at the main camera gave a hand-sighn and in a second the red lights on the cameras went off.

Billy wasted no time in moving towards Lola and grabbing her in a happy hug, spinning her around in pure joy with Lola giggling happily. Angie giggled happily at the couple´s happiness and turned to the other side of the room. With longing eyes she looked at Rodney who was deep in animated conversation with Matthew Conners and Mrs Longline. Fighting down the small blush she slowly made her way towards them. Rolling her eyes in mild exaspiration at the topic they were discussing, Natalie decided to leave her husband to his fun and instead made her way to her son, who was just returning with his best friend and April. In fact, nearly everyone in the building converged there, eagerly exchanging their feelings and views on the girls´ work – the expectation of which art would be best was high in the air. Only four people didn´t share the excitement. As soon as the people started to converge, Wiseman called his three "brothers" to himself.

"All right boys. Right now the people are concetrating in here. You three will be stationed in each of the other sectors – one in each. Remain there until the end of the break and make sure, that no one dares to touch the works."Wiseman instructed, looking vigilantly around the room.

The trio saluted him at once, determination shining from beneath their sunglasses.

"I´ll take the painter sector."said Tex nodding.

"I´ll have the sculpure sector."said Nick crossing his arms.

"Then I´ll have the..."started Archie, but the foursome suddenly heared his name called.

As one they spun to the source of the call. Seeing who it was, Archie´s cheeks reddened, but a overjoyed smile appeared on his face as he saw his girlfriend waving at him, Abbygail and Mia besides her. Wiseman eyed the girls, before returning their smiles and looked down at Archie.

"Of course... you can take your sweetheart along."he said and the trio looked at him.

"I... I can, brother?"asked Archie almost not daring to believe it.

Wiseman showed him a happy smile.

"Of course you can, brother Archie. Afterall, the more eyes on the lookout, the better."

Archie gave an overjoyed whoop and instantly rushed from the circle the four of them had formed.

"Hey! Don´t forget, Archie...! No smoochin´ on duty! Got that?!"called Nick, a bit menacingly.

"Of _course_ not, brother Nick."called Archie in an almost innocent voice as he rushed to his girlfriend and grabbed her hand, pulling her after him.

Emily gave a happy squeal and allowed herself to be dragged behind her beloved boy. Nodding at Wiseman and Tex, Nick left too, going the same way Archie just went. As he passed between Alice and Mia, Mia grabbed his arm.

"Need some help, _detective_?" asked Mia, giving him a very rare smile.

Nick´s cheeks took on color, nevertheless he rolled his eyes mockingly and shrugged with a small smile.

"Be my guest, blondie."

With that, he and Mia left the room towards the sector – determined to perform the mission.

Wiseman and Tex looked at eachother and shared a smile.

"Our brother seems to have picked himself up a girl."said Wiseman happily.

Tex smiled and nodded.

"Looks that way. No matter how much he tries to deny it."

Wiseman grinned, happy for his "little brother".

"She will be an amazing ally to our brotherhood. Well then brother Tex... you should probably also make your way to..."

"Tex?"

Both spunned to the figure who called Tex´s name and was right now standing next to them.

Tex instantly recodnized his classmate – Abbygail Aberforth. Wiseman looked curiously to he bispectalled shorter girl with brilliant brown eyes, shoulder-length brown hair, who´s pleasant face was now sporting a small blush. Tex looked at her dumbfounded, unsure what she may want.

"I was wondering if you need help with your duty."she said shyly yet with some measure of determination.

Wiseman grinned to himself even as Tex´s confusion only compounded. Clapping him on the back with so much strength that he almost fell forward, Wiseman gave a happy laugh.

"But of _course_ he could use your help, Ms..."

"Aberforth. Abbygail Aberforth, detective Wiseman."she said pleasantly.

"...Mr Bawelfot. My little brother here would be delighted to accept your help. _Right_, brother Tex?"said Wiseman jovially.

Tex´s head was now moving from his "brother" to the blushing girl – a deep red blush forming on his cheeks.

"Wha...? I... I..."she stammered completly unsure what to say or do.

Wiseman clapped him on the back again.

"You can´t ignore this young lady´s plea to assist you. Just take her with you and show her, how an elite detective operates."

Tex´s face was almost completly red as he scratched his head, clearly uncomfortable. He really didn´t understand why Abbygail wanted to help him with something he could easily do himself. On the otherhand, he knew her to be a very nice, gentle and kind girl, who had a great talent in painting... Tex´s eyes opened in that revelation. THAT must be it... he´s in charge of the painter sector. And she loves that type of art. THAT must be why she wants to accompany him. Thinking about it, he considered saying "no" and moving on with his mission solo, like he intended from the start. However looking at her, he realized that he couldn´t say no to her. She has always been so nice to him since first grade and that thought brought a kind smile to his lips.

"Sure. Come along then, Abby."he said quietly nodding to Wiseman and making for the door with her.

Wiseman smiled at the two retreating forms.

"Looks like our brotherhood will have strong allies."he said to himself happily, before turning towards his fellow judge and his guests.

As Abbygail happily made her way with Tex, chatting with him about the help the brotherhood provied for the contest, they heared a loud giggle coming from the Sculpter sector´s door. Tensing, she stopped in her tracks. As did Tex, but his face didn´t exhibit a trace of the tense surprise Abbygail sported. Instead a determined look formed on his face. Gesturing her towards the wall, he whispered.

"Looks like we got here just in time. Stay close to the wall... we´ll surprise whoever is in there."he said, drawing his baton from his detective´s cloak.

Moving quietly the pair made for the door, even as they heared another set of muffled giggles and even a small moan.

"W...what´s going on there?"asked Abbygail in fright as another louder moan left the room, chilling her to her bones.

Tex´s eyes tensed in revelation.

"Oh no... its worse than I thought... someone is trying to stop the cheaters and... "he didn´t get to finish when another loud moan and a small shriek rang from the room, chilling them both.

"Murder?!"breathed Tex in a shocked voice.

Abbygail clasped a hand to her mouth, looking at him unsure what to do.

"Not on my watch!"exclaimed Tex and instantly sprinted the rest of the way into the room.

"Tex wait! Don´t go in there!"exclaimed Abbygail, running after him and scared what may befall him on the other side of the door.

"FREEZE, BEAUVILLAGE POLICE!"exclaimed Tex in the doorway, brandishing his baton ready to whack whoever was in there, just as Abbygail sprinted up to him.

However they suddenly saw something that made the freeze on the spot and a deep red blush appear on both of their faces. There at the small judge table, reserved for the judge and his guests was Mr Martin Skylark glued between two beautyfull young women, their hands all over eachother, portions of their clothing rolled to reveal bits of the flawless skin of the lovely ladies in their late twenties and now, all three heads turned towards the room´s newcomers. Tex´s jaw fell open and Abbygail swiftly clapped her hands to her eyes.

"M...Mr Skylark?! W...what´s going on in here?"asked a crimson-faced Tex, though their position on the table couldn´t suggest any clearer as to WHAT they were doing before the arrival.

The lipstick lip-prints all over Trashbin´s face were evidence enough. Trashbin chuckled a bit, showing no hint of embaressment whatsoever.

"Oh...Tex, was it? Well... I´m just showing these lovely ladies the sector and everything... We thought we might have a moment alone now that everyone is gone."he explained happily and the two young women giggled girlishly as they recodnized one of the Brotherhood of the Wise.

"Y...yeah but... on the table...?"asked Tex, reddening all the more and NOT wanting to imagine the details even as the trio laughed again.

"Weeeell... you see, the girls wanted to show me _their_ art and...well... you know... I´m very interested in seeing _that_."said Trashbin sheepishly and the girls giggled again.

The woman on the left, an amazingly shaped 29 year old blonde ran a finger over his chin and cheek.

"Ooooh, Trashbin... you curious boy, you..."she said in a flirty voice.

The other, a brunette of same age also used her finger to stear his face towards her.

"You know... we positively adoooore boys, who love art..."she said before kissing him passionately.

Tex was rooted at the spot, his eyes almost bulging beneath the sunglasses at what he was seeing. Abbygail´s too dispite the fingers which covered her pair beneath her spectacles, which were purposely separated from eachother in order for her to see – and her cheeks were now blood-red at what she saw, as the blonde also gave Trashbin a long passionate kiss. Abbygail was barely breathing and she could feel her heart beating like a drum. Slowly she chanced a look at Tex as though hoping he would get an idea from the scene in front of them.

"M...Mr Skylark... we have a watch-duty to perform here."he said in a deadpanned voice, completly mortified by the scene infront of his eyes.

Separating himself from the blonde woman, Trashbin licked his lips before grinning at the teens.

"Oh... I see... looks like you guys had the same idea..."

Abbygail gasped at what the man was implying and she once more clapped her hands firmly to her face, determined not to look anywhere near Tex.

"NO! Its not like that! Brother Fred asked us to patrol here until the break-time is over... I... I had no such intentions... honest!"stammered Tex swiftly trying to explain himself.

With another intake of breath, Abbygail fixed him with a slightly hurt look, but on the other hand she had to agree with him. Trashbin gave a loud "aaaah" and got down from the table, yet doing nothing to relinquish his hold on the girls.

"Oh I see... well ladies... we can continue our _art-showing_ in the office above."he said wiggling his eyebrows at the suggestively.

The two women giggled once again even as they made their way towards the teens and the door. As they passed Trashbin looked over his shoulder at the two.

"Just promise, that you won´t _watch_ too hard, okay?"he said mischievously before they left, laughter prominent across the hall as they went.

Tex and Abbygail were left alone in the large room, rooted on the spot and resolved not to look anywhere near eachother – determined not to show the other the blood-red blush on their faces.

In the Alternative sector there was a different pair of people were lingering.

"I´m not sure this is such a good idea... someone might come at any moment, Cherie..."said Steve with some fear.

Once the sector had emptied, he managed to quickly clear a route for her, so that she could get back into the sector to begin her _mission_. Right now, she had already went trough some of the arts, which she was sure would be hot candidates for the win. Just now, Cherie only had one work left to sabotage – the work Lis had been working on. Troughout the course of the round, Cherie had wondered how to sabotage Lis and her work – a rubber-tire figurine, which could be moved and positioned into many poses – the skelleton holding the rubber "skin". Glaringly she wondered many times over the course of the two hour limit how the hell was she supposed to sabotage THAT. She pondered on it so much, that she barely could concetrate on her work – a small model of Michael Miles. She was also very pissed at the attention Lis´ work had drawn. More than once the cameras moved toward her work and the guests, judges and even the little Tofu brat along with his friends came to check-out the tallest work in the sector. Luckily, just before the end of the limit, Cherie figured out a way...

"I still have one more to take care of, Stevie. Just keep watch for me, okay?"she asked sweetly as she moved to Lis´ work which was now covered by a large white blanket.

Yanking it down, she growled at the sight of the figure, which was positioned in a thinking pose – the black figurine looking extremly impressive no matter how much she wanted to deny it. A nasty smile formed on her face as she began to work on the damn thing.

"Just a few simple moves and this thing will collapse."she said happily as she cut several small wooden poles underneath the rubber which apparently were the reason for the thing´s balancing of the position.

"Please Cherie... hurry..."urged Steve nervously, uncomfortable with the whole prospect of being chaught.

"Almost finished Stevie."she sing-songed as she made her final move and proceeded to cover the figure back, just as the figure slouched slightly.

Suddenly happy giggles rang from the room that led to the sector and both Steve and Cherie froze.

"Oh no! Someone´s coming! And this way! We gotta hide!"panicked Steve as Cherie quickly made her way to him.

Cherie quickly looked around, nervous herself as the giggles grew louder and closer. At once she saw a hiding place.

"Here!"she said, grabbing Steve by the arm and dragging him behind the crowd´s sector at the side of the room.

"Down!"she commanded, but suddenly two forms rushed to the room.

Realizing the time was up, Cherie acted on instinct and pushed Steve to the ground, lying on him, so that the boundary would shield them from view. Steve´s eyes bulged and he instantly turned beet-red at how close Cherie was to him and the position they were in. Drawing an almost shocked breath, he suddenly felt Cherie´s forefinger on his lips.

"Shhhh! Quiet, Stevie... don´t wanna get chaught..."she whispered as she tried with all her might to listen what was going on in the room.

Hearing nothing she fixed her gaze downside and almost yelped when she realized the position she was in. Lying on top of Steve, their faces very close to eachother and her finger on his lips. Her heartrate quickened incredibly, but she could barely breath – her eyes opening widely at the sight. Steve´s face so close, his eyes closed almost dreamingly, the feel of his trembling lips on her finger – it was a sight she never expected to see on him, but for some mysterious reason... she liked it... very much in fact. Suddenly a giant blast of emotions exploded in her. She started to breath fast, almost gasping for breath and in her tummy she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling that was making her close her eyes contently and move her face closer – desperate for closer contact even as a lock of her long black hair fell on Steve´s face. Steve reacted to it and with a soft, gentle hand he pushed the hair from his face and slowly brushed the stray lock behind Cherie´s ear. Cherie almost gave a shuddering breath at the feel of those gentle fingers in her hair, the touch so... comforting, caring that she didn´t want it to ever leave her. Locking eyes she saw something in there she never imagined to see, but somehow... though not knowing what it was, something was telling her, that it was something she had been waiting all life long for. Moving ever so slowly, she manoovred her lips over Steve´s, moving closer and closer... Suddenly a loud giggle and a smacking sound rang trough the room.

"Aaaaarchie! Stop! That... that tickles.!"

Suspition loomed in Cherie´s eyes and she chanced a look over the boundary. There, at the judge´s table sat Archie, his arms around the form of his girlfriend Emily, his lips pressed to her neck and the girl had her eyes closed in delight, giggling as he assaulted her neck with loving smooches.

"Oh... stop! You´re gonna give me hickies."Emily giggled, but in fact didn´t want for him to stop, giggling again as he chuckled on her neck before returning to his assault.

Blushing heavily at what was going on and remembering the position she was with Steve, Cherie retreated behind the boundary again, but thistime kept her distance from Steve.

"Come on... let´s sneak out... no way they´ll notice."she whispered red-cheeked, determined not to look at him.

Nodding dumbly and trying hard to regain his composure, Steve made his way after Cherie, slowly but surely sneaking out from the sector, Emily and Archie too preoccupied to notice anyone EVER being there.

...

Looking at his watch again, Wiseman paced the main sector looking for someone. Growling to himself a bit even as he passed the numerous guests and other people, looking for some sighn of his fellow judge. Where was he for crying out loud?! The fifteen-minute break is almost over. They have a duty to perform afterall. He only hopes that no strange things will happen this round although Wiseman reassured himself – his brotherhood is there afterall. A small smile formed on his lips as he recalled Nick, Tex and Archie accompanied by girls into their respective sectors. He was very happy for them, they seemed to be as happy as they could – even Nick was in a state of begrudging happiness with the blonde girl, a feeling that was mutual on both sides. Wiseman´s smile however faltered when he came to a sudden realization. His three brothers have seem to have found something, HE himself had missed out on right up until now. He never was very good with women, well to tell the truth he devoted much of his life to becoming a great detective. After his big success, it was finally happening. But right now, his eyes opened to something that was missing. Even as he pondered upon it, his eyes fell on the numerous young women and girls there. When his gaze fell on Lola Tofu and Billy Hubbub cuddling eachother, he felt a painfull pang in his heart. Thinking upon it more, he supposed that this contest had a very good side to it. Looking at the girls around, he came to fully realize that these beautyfull young girls respect him – what´s more, they view him as the hero of their town. Surely among those girls there are those who love and adore him. If that was the case, then he should finally find an ally of his own then. A small smile formed on his lips as he remembered the love letters he had been recieving. This secret admirer... he could almost laugh at himself for being so blind. Judging from the letters, this girl truly loved him... and she wanted for him to find her...?

"This is a job for the legendary detective Frederick Wiseman."he practicly whooped even as he punched his right arm into the air – positively giddy about the prospect.

Suddenly a loud laugh from the curtains made him to direct his gaze there and sure enough, he found the person he was looking for. There, still in his costume, stood Michael Miles trying to be out of view as much as possible as he was speaking to someone on his cell phone.

"I´m tellin´you Pierre... I got this in the bag. Just be sure to watch and prepare a list of the works you will like... how much...? Well I´m not sure yet... tell ya what... I´ll look it over when I get the stuff and fix the prices... Pierre, my art-obssesed friend, d´you really think Milesey don´t know art when he sees it...? Since I was a kid I could appretiate art. Hell I even recodnized my classmate Suzie´s amazing talent in first grade – FIRST GRADE, man... get it? And it was just a drawing in the sand-box then... wha...? You´re kidding... an artist like you doesn´t know sand-box art? You´re kidding... man, come on... its a cool art and for free too... I know the rain washes it down... but not if you pin an umbrella over it... see? We were resoursefull artists even as children... yeah... see...? Oh, I knew you´d see the brilliance of it... yea... well, anyways keep watchin´ and well I´ll make the prices for you... I said don´t worry... leave things to Milesazzo...kay... see ya."

Turning the phone off, Miles placed it under his robes and started to twirl his fake mustache, grinning like a maniac.

"Mwaaahaha... mucho-money... killa´ business... man, I should´ve gotten into this art-thing a long time ago... mwuahahahaha..."he held his hands infront of himself and laughed like an evil-villain in some cartoon.

"What are you doing here?"

Miles instantly turned to the source of the voice and was almost shocked to see Wiseman standing there. Swiftly recompozing himself, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh... noooothin´ Wisey-guysey... nothing going on here... just getting into the atmosphere y´know..."

Wiseman raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.

"Oh really... and who was that you spoke on the cell phone?"

Miles almost gulped and sincirely hoped, that Wisey didn´t hear all that he said.

"Oh that was just... m´ friend, yeah... a super friend, knew him since we were kids. You don´t know him though... he doesn´t like cops, or cop-_kids_ for that matter."

Wiseman rolled his eyes and sighed deeply.

"You haven´t called me that in ages."he said, begrudgingly liking the nostalgia the old nickname provided.

Miles grinned at him happily.

"Weeeeeell... we´re not kids anymore, Wisey. You´ve grown into a cop-_man_..."

Now Wiseman glared him.

"_Detective_, you tactless hooligan. Not cop-man!"

Miles let out a happy laugh and placed his arm around Wiseman´s shoulders.

"You got it, _detective_-_man_."he said happily as he rullfed Wiseman´s hair, much to Wiseman´s protest.

"Stop that! I´ll have you arrested for ruffling up a commanding police officer. And come on back to your place, the show´s about to start again."he said grudgingly.

Miles however took no notice of his tone. Fixing him a happy smile and nod, he directed him back towards the judge sector, still with his arm over his shoulders as though the two were best buddies.

"So tell me somethin´ Wisey... has any of the girls chaught your attention? Ya know... when one of them wins, you may end up taking her for a date – have any hot candidates?"he asked good-naturedly.

Wiseman´s face turned red. He gave a loud sniff and turned his face away from Miles´ penetrating look.

"Awwww... come on, Wisey. I´ll tell you mine... look there´s this girl Tammy in the painter sector... but to be really honest, this mystery girl Lis...WAAAAAHOOOO... she really chaught my eye... I mean she´s cute even with the mask, can dance like a goddess and... AAAAAH... well, everything about her seems to be so... perfect."said Miles with slightly red cheeks, even as Wiseman twitched in his grip when he gave out his wild exclamations.

Sniffing again he turned his gaze on him.

"I have noticed one or two..."he answered truthfully and slightly shyly.

Miles let out a happy laugh and tightened his grip on his fellow-judge.

"That´s the spirit, Wisey! About time too... I mean you finally get a girl..."

Wiseman gave him a death-glare.

"DON´T call me Wisey! And since when were you keeping track of my dating record?!"

Completly immune to the death-glare, Miles laughed in pure humor.

"Aww... come ooooon, Wisey! I know you since we were six years old. And never once have I seen you with a single girl. I think its about time, that your lady-luck changed. Everyone deserves to find the one they will love."

Wiseman blushed once more and heavily, thinking of the prospect.

"Well... YOU were always the popular one... I still wonder why I never saw YOU with a girlfriend. I mean... you´re about as experienced in this as I am."

Miles felt a small pang when he remembered, that he was in fact more experienced though Wisey didn´t know it. Fighting the familiar feeling of pain he felt everytime thoughts of his ex-girlfriend came back, he managed to smile at Wiseman´s inquiring gaze.

"Wisey m´friend... I believe that MY lady-luck is changing."saying happily, thinking of the beautyfull mystery girl of the contest.

Wiseman was extremly curious now, forgetting that they have reached the sector´s centre where Lola, Angie, Mayor Haveitall, Rodney and the guests were waiting for them. Miles however let him go swiftly and turned to the mayor Haveitall.

"Mayor-man... I need a word with you in private."he said to general confusion of all.

...

"Aaaaand welcome back, dear friends. The moment you have waited for is finally here."exclaimed Angie to general applause.

"Our dear judges will now judge the works our girls have made and dish out the points that with the exception of our top five will be needed to pass the round."said Lola into her microphone, gesturing to the thirty contestants, who like the crowd all gathered in the main sector.

Most of the girls looked very nervous indeed – afterall their only chances of passing to round three were depending on their work. As both Lola and Chichi saw, there were three girls who were completly at ease as though they didn´t have a care in the world – Candy, who was smiling her large and toothy smile before waving to her younger sister Mia in the crowd, even as Mia sniffed loudly and hid herself behind Nick, then Cherie, who was looking very smug as she nodded to Nina and Zoe, but once her eyes fell on Steve, who was standing near them her cheeks colored in deep red, and finally Lis who was looking very peacefull and shared a small wink and smile with Chichi who was flashing her an admiring look even as Phil and Victor were oggling at her red-cheeked.

"But before we can go to any of that, we have a special announcement from our dear mayor, Johnatan Haveitall."announced Angie, gesturing to her father as he stepped up towards her and took the microphone.

Angie stepped closer to Lola and shared a confused look. No one knew, what Miles told the mayor but apparently it had to be something very good, because the mayor was very joyfull about it.

"My dear friends... as many of you know, our original plan was to have the works our talented ladies have done exhibited in this very art-workshop. However our amazing judge Miles approached me with an even better idea. Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to announce that all of these works will be donated to a charity organization."

As the crowd sprang into applause, almost everyone from the crew, the two remaining judges, the narrators, the guests and even the contestants shared a highly confused look. Suddenly however, most have joined the applause of the crowd, but not everyone. Lis dissolved into giggles, Lola and Chichi shared a look before flashing a exaspirated glare on Miles, Phil and Billy were barely holding their laughs, Rodney and Angie shared a small smile and Wiseman fixed a highly suspitious look at Miles, who came to the mayor´s side and took the microphone into his hand.

"Yes, yes, yes my dear friends... this art will all be contributed to the Art for World organization – a noble charity organization which sells art to wealthy people and passes the money on to those less fortunate..."

Chichi slapped a palm on his forehead as Lola shot Miles a death-glare even as the applause was reaching its high point.

"Michael Miles, you have gone too far..."growled Lola to Miles as he came to her, his mobile phone in his hand.

"Later Lola... right now just hold the phone infront of your mike..."he instructed as he directed her hands while starting a song from his phone.

Suddenly a slow sad violin-played melody started to play – Lola too stunned to move, fully aware of the cameras on her. Miles quickly took a hankerchief from under his robe and started to adress the crowd as the sad melody played for the entire sector to hear.

"You see... the money will go to the poor kiddies of the orphanage. Not many are aware what a hard life orphaned kids have..."he said in a somber sad voice.

The crowd "awwed" sadly and most were really lookingas though Miles said something none of them knew.

"I grew up as an orphan... its a sad life... no one to love you... no one to ease your pain when you get hurt... NO solo kid´s room eighther..."

Mia actually gasped at this – the idea of sharing a room with her elder sister chilling her to the bones.

"... and you´re POOOOOR... no sweets, no snacks... NO comic-books or toys..."he said, bringing the handkerchief to his sunglassed eyes.

Many of the boys in the crowd gasped – horrified at the prospect.

"... NO video-games!..."

Now it was Phil who gasped most of all.

"...simply all these things that every kid should have... and especially THESE... to take away the pain of no family... the cruel predjudges of those kids in school who have a family and are well loved..."he continued in an almost tearfull voice, which was growing sadder by the moment and even gave out a series of sniffs.

"...oh, dear folks... you have no IDEA what it´s like to be growing-up like that... how desperate these poor kiddie-widdies are for love and attention... how they long to have something of their own... OOOOOH, YOU CRUEL WORLD...WHHHYYYYYY?!"finished Miles as he practicly dissolved into "tears", covering his face with his other arm, still holding the handkerchief.

He wasn´t the only one. More than half of the crowd fell victim to Miles´ lethal combination of sad story and music. Sniffing, sporting small tears, adults or kids alike had their heads bowed, some even embracing others – not even caring WHO. Even Pop and Titus Hubbub were holding on to eachother as they cried like little children.

"T...that´s soooo saaaad."exclaimed Archie, dissolving into tears and swiftly embracing Emily who hugged him back tightly, her cheek pressed to the top of his head and also crying.

Rodney had a sombre expression on his face but Angie suddenly launched at him, hugging him tightly and sobbing in his embrace.

"There, there... its all right, Angie."he whispered in a low soothing voice as he ran his hands across her back consolingly.

Tex´s lower lip twitched and a few tears were running down his cheeks. Besides him, Abbygail gave out a few sniffs and wiped a few tears from underneath her glassed. Nick and Mia were looking at everyone with stunned incredulous looks.

"This is NOT happening!"breathed Nick in shock, looking from one tearfull face to another.

"For once, monkey-face I agree with you... I mean... I can´t even imagine sharing a room with that supercow, but really... this is going overboard..."said Mia, shaking her head at the sudden outpour of emotions.

Spying Tex and Archie, Nick gave an exaspirated sigh and turned to them, even as Archie was still cuddled to Emily.

"Man the hell up! We are the Brotherhood of the Wise... not some crying sissies! Take example from our brother Fred, he´s completly immune to stories like..."

Suddenly however Wiseman let out a howl of misery and embraced Miles in a hug that surprised even Miles himself.

"...THAT?!"finished Nick, horrified at what he was seeing.

Wiseman was crying like a baby in the embrace and thanks to the paired up microphones in both his and Miles´ hands, everyone could easily hear his whimpering.

"...I had no idea, you had it so tough... now I know why you are such a hooligan... I almost feel sorry for all the times I tried to arrest you..."he sobbed into Miles´ shoulder.

This was too much for Chichi Tofu, Phil Conners and Billy Hubbub. All three fell to their knees, clutching at their stomaches and bowing their heads as not to give away any sighn of the fact, that they were overcome by uncontrollable laughter. The same was true for Lis and the laughter only increaced as they heared Miles´ reply.

"Awwwwww, Wisey... you´re all heart."he exclaimed before embracing Wiseman back and sobbing on his shoulder as well.

A large loud collective "awwwwwww" rang trough the entire sector and even those who were watching on TV had experienced similar feelings at the scene.

"Miles m´boy... it gives Beauvillage the greatest pleasure to help those poor unfortunate children."said mayor Haveitall as he came between the two men as they separated.

The crowd instantly sprang into an aprooving applause and cheers that raised the roof.

"And as mayor of Beauvillage I have to say, that its my highest honour to be affiliated with such a worthy cause."

As a yet another cheer rang the room, Lola turned her head to the place where the crew was standing and fixed Chichi a "Can you believe it?!" look. Chichi however shot her back a wink and a smile, that told her at once that her genius little baby brother had another one of his infamous plans. Grinning to herself, she looked at Miles who was waving to the applauding crowd.

"_Ooooh, you just wait, Miles..._"she thought while smiling slyly, already looking forward to hearing what Chichi has in store for their greedy friend.

...


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Deep inside the Hidehole´s computer living room, Lily was rolling on the couch, positively shrieking in laughter. Much like April, Phil and Billy, who could barely hide their laughter as another wail rang across the Hidehole.

"NOOOOOO... WHHHHHHYYYYYY?!"wailed Miles, his eyes in real tears thistime.

Lola and Chichi smiled at eachother in a satisfied way before turning back to Miles who was in the centre of the room, his hands on his face in pure horror.

"Well... you DID promise, that the money will end up for the orphanages. On LIVE TELEVISION, I might add."said Lola in a matter-of-fact voice.

Miles fixed her with a tearfull, puppy-eyed look – his sunglasses on the table nearby.

His heartwarming story was so powerfull that everyone believed it. So much in fact, that his contact Pierre – a Megacity art dealer was almost instantly bombarded by people willing to pay very large sums for even the lousiest of art produced by the contestants – even Candy´s _Dream_, which scored only a measly five points from Wiseman and a double zero from Miles and Rodney was auctioned and bought by a wealthy lady from Middletown for 500 dollars. The auction itself was heavily viewed and medialized – in the wake of the popularity of the contest itself and Miles´ story and even with the tiny percentage for Pierre, Miles brought a bag back to Beauvillage which held a sum of _**four milion dollars**_ – positive that he hit the jackpot. However as soon as he got back, Chichi tricked him into coming with the bag into Town Hall, where he was instantly on the recieving end of the attention of numerous reporters as he had to personally turn the money over to the head of the charity organization, that provided funding for orphans of the entire country. He and Wiseman were then interviewed on the entire thing and the media gave them the title "_Men with hearts of gold_". Lola savoured Miles´ comeupance with almost sadistic delight and was highly impressed by Chichi´s plan – the way he engineered the entire thing with the mayor, yet still not breathing a word about Miles´ innitial plans for the artworks – this way he brought a powerfull wave of popularity to Miles _and_ Wiseman, whose tearfull embrace on live tv had drawn him into the story. Which turned out to be his saving grace, because right after the live performance of round two, Wiseman got a highly unpleasant phonecall from his elder brother who yelled himself hoarse as he went on about the shame Wiseman brought on the family and how the sight of him wailing like a sisie on live television almost gave his grandfather Sylvester Wiseman a heart-attack. The popularity he gained however was instantly viewed very nicely by the country´s Police Public Relation Division and even the high-up law-enforcement officers viewed the concept nicely. As the media wrote "A detective ruthless against criminals and gold-hearted to the people" – such a concept was a powerfull one indeed. Wiseman´s siblings ended up in shapes of towering rage until their father put his foot down and ordered them to drop the matter – he himself viewing his son´s growing popularity with neutral interest, determined not to take a side. His mother on the other hand wasted no time in congratulating him with affection enough for all of them. Mayor Haveitall was shining with happiness since then, now that Beauvillage was gaining country-wide popularity along with its heroes and young ones. Only one person was positively miserable about the entire matter. And that one person was now wailing in the Hidehole surrounded by his friends, much to their humor.

"Come on, Miles... you´re the "Man with a heart of gold"."said Chichi slyly.

Miles fixed him with a pouty glare.

"I wanna be the "Man with pockets-full of _Greed_". Chichi Tofu, THAT was nothing short of cruel!"he said, pouting like a child and pointing at him for accusation even as some of the others laughed.

Chichi however wasn´t fazed.

"Can´t you see how a reputation like THAT can help you?"

Miles looked at him confusedly.

"What d´you mean, Chich?"

Chichi sighed as though the truth of it should be obvious to anyone.

"Imagine how many people will happily do business with a popular person like that. Imagine the contacts you can make. All because you did good on your promise."

Miles´ expression was brightening.

"Why didn´t I think of that...?"he said in a quiet voice.

Chichi grinned.

"That´s what you have ME for, remember?"

With a happy whoop he launched himself on Chichi, grabbing him in a hug.

"You are the best, Chich! _Super-head_! Knows _everything_!"he exclaimed before jokingly kissing the top of Chichi´s blonde head with a loud sound, drawing everyone´s laughter.

"Okay... with that behind us... me and Phil are gonna check out the rubber statue you got from Lis. I´ll try to fix it... in fact... I have an amazing idea, that can make the statue even more fun."said Chichi as his eyes sparkled with an all-too familiar twinkle.

Phil nodded and the two made their way towards the door.

"Wait, Chich!"

Stopping, the twosome turned back, looking at Miles who seemed to have one more thing to say.

"Promise me one thing... that you will never do such a thing again to your dear chum, boosom pal and best friend."said Miles pointing to himself with his thumb.

Chichi quirked an eyebrow and after a few seconds turned to Phil.

"I promise never to do such a thing to you again, Phil."he said with a straight face.

Phil grinned at him as they turned back towards the doorway and made their way, even as Billy, Lola, Lily and April exploded in laughter again.

"That´s nice to know, Chichi."said Phil loud enough for them to hear and the laughter was renewed even as the boys dissapeared outside.

"You three would make awesome comedians."chortled Lola as Miles sat down on the couch next to Lily.

Lily grinned at Miles.

"You can say that again Lola... afterall... where do you think I get so much inspiration for my humorous situations for the book?"

Miles folded his arms and humphed slightly as Lola and April shared a giggle.

"Well... I think I should go along after them. I´m looking forward to seeing what they do with the statue."said April smilingly, before she made her way out of the room as well.

Watching her retreating form Lola suddenly got an idea. Smiling happily, she quickly shared a look with Lily who was still seated besides Miles. Winking at her she turned to her boyfriend.

"Billy, we should go upstairs."she said plainly.

Billy gave her a slightly surprised look and his cheeks took on a small blush.

"You know Chichi... the thing, he wanted us to check on."she said pointing upstairs.

Billy quickly got the idea and nodded.

"Y...yes... yes, of course... the thing..."he said blushingly before taking her hand and allowing himself to be dragged upstairs by his loving girlfriend, already giddy about what she had in store for him.

Lily was barely able to restraint a giggle as they left upstairs and even Miles snickered.

"Sheesh... the _thing_ upstairs? If she wants to smooch her boyfriend she could´ve just said so."he said once more snickering.

Lily giggled too, but she was very aware of Lola´s plan. Instantly she felt a rush of gratitude towards her best friend. Also, she came aware of another fact – she and Miles were sitting on the couch in the room _alone_. That brought a crimson blush to her cheeks. Miles however took no notice of it and instead once more slouched on the couch and let out a loud "OOOUGH".

"Gotta hand it to Chich... he really got me. But still... _four milion_?! That´s king-kong cash, flower-girl... I mean... I always dreamed of having such a sum..."

Lily directed her attention to him, suddenly intent on asking the question that bungled her for a while.

"Miles... why are you so intent on making so much money? I mean...you make quite enough to get along... why make milions?"

Miles looked taken aback by the question and he took a moment to ponder on the answer.

"Weeelll... you see, Lil... eversince I was a little dude... I... well, envied my classmates in school – I mean... they had everything I didn´t...A home, a family, nice clothes, cool toys, siblings... what did I have...? An orphanage and though Count Louie was always fun to be around... well... he just... never exactly was the parent type... he was more like a cool uncle or a very good friend. As for the clothes and toys, Count Louie was never rich and he always maked some deals with guys around Megacity – we kids often helped... but whatever income he made, he always made sure that ALL of us would be better for it. But let´s just say, that Count Louie wasn´t exactly made to be a businessman. Many of the clothing and toys we got were second hand and everything. I _hated it_, Lily... I hated the fact, that my _well-mannered_ classmates had their things brand new and everything... and everytime they teased me about it, I did some prank to get revenge. Funny enough, that´s how I become friends with Roger. The class bullies were teasing him and I pranked him out of it. Heh... back then he was nothing like the Roger I know today. He was just a tiny scared kid back then. Wisey was an outsider too, but the others feared him, because he was a _cop-kid_. Rog never had that advantage. So we joined forces and made our own way. From then I had nice times with him – we always shared, but deep inside I always felt guilty, that I had nothing to offer him. And that´s when I decided, that I will use every trick in the book – and a few of my own invention, to never feel that way again. I vowed that I would earn cash to be able to buy myself anything I ever wanted and to my friends too. That I would be able to give, share and take care of those I care about."said Miles, looking at the floor as he finished.

A moment´s silence endured. Miles felt kinda surprised, that he chose to reveal so much of himself – to open up so easily, when life taught him otherwise. But there was this comfortable feeling inside that told him, that somehow... here in the Hidehole... with these cool friends... this cool girl sitting besides him... that he can be himself... reveal things he doesn´t dare to anywhere besides Roger, Melanie and the rest of the Jumpers. He suddenly realized just how much have Chichi and the rest of the gang won him over during his time in Beauvillage. His musings were interupted when he felt Lily grab his hand. Looking at her face, he saw her fixing him a somber look.

"I can´t even imagine the kind of growing up you had to endure, Miles."she said sadly.

"Well it wasn´t all bad, Lil... afterall I scored amazing friends, had a ton of adventures and learned much more than any school could ever give."he said earnestly, grinning at her though his cheeks were taking on a small shade of red.

Lily shook her head.

"But you never had anyone to love you..."she said plainly and Miles knew just how she meant it.

"Weeell... I can´t pretend I didn´t miss it... but I´ve always had Rog, Count Louie, Mel and the other Jumpers, and..."

"Now you´ve also got us."said Lily cutting him short.

"You´ve got Chichi, me, Lola, Billy, April, Phil, the Tofu and the Hubbub elders. Plus the entire town now looks up to you... unlike Megacity."

Miles smiled happily at what he was told. For some reason hearing it was suddenly giving him an extremly warm feeling in his heart – one that he hadn´t felt in years...

"Thanks flower-girl..."he said quietly before grabbing Lily in a gentle hug, one that the girl returned, her head resting on Miles´ shoulder.

They stayed like that for a few moments, completly content but suddenly a loud "OOOUCH!" was heared from outside followed by hilarious laughter. Breaking apart from eachother, they looked at the doorway leading outside and could hear Lola and Billy moving from upstairs towards the stairs. Looking at eachother, they smiled at eachother shyly with red cheeks.

"C´mon... let´s take a look at what the commotion is about..."suggested Miles as he rose from the couch and offered a hand to Lily.

Nodding smilingly she took it and walked out with him out of the room towards the main door.

"What was that?"asked Lola, who was just coming down the stairs hand-in-hand with Billy.

"Dunno. Came from outside."said Miles, quickly letting go of Lily´s hand.

Lola sighed knowing already who screamed.

"Uh-oh... let´s see what our creative twosome got themselfs into thistime."

The foursome exited the Hidehole´s main door. There, outside stood the rubber-tire statue Lis had made, tools and parts layed next to it. Chichi was just sitting up on the ground where he must´ve lay mere moments ago, his right palm resting on the side of his face just over his eye. April was kneeling besides him torn between humor and concern. Phil however was still chortling and catching his breath, his eyes sporting tears of laughter.

"Wow... what a shot..."he chortled still as Chichi grumbled.

"Are you okay, Chichi?"asked April as he got to his feet.

"What´s going on here? What did you do?"demanded Lola, looking at the statue then at her brother who was still holding the side of his face.

As he let his hand fall down the others saw, that the side of Chichi´s face was red and judging by the half-closed right eye he must´ve sustained a hit into it.

"Nothing, Sis... we were just fixing the statue and..."he began but was cut off by his best friend.

"Chichi had the idea of the doll serving as a training dummy and he added springs to the jolts of its arms and legs. And it looks like it worked."he finished explaining, shooting a grin at Chichi, who shot him back a small glare.

"When Chichi punched it, it punched him back, right into the eye."added April still close to Chichi.

The older teens looked at eachother.

"Yup. And apparently, this thing can pack a pretty good punch."noted Chichi once more placing his fingers over the skin around his eye – he will undoubtably have a black-eye in mere hours.

Lola slapped her forehead.

"You and your little inventions..."

Billy chuckled slightly, Lily shook her head good-naturedly, but Miles suddenly gave out a loud, overjoyed whoop.

"Awesome idea, Genius-boy... I always wanted something like that since I was a kid... lemme try, lemme try..."he exclaimed animatedly, jumping up and down like an happy-go-lucky 5 year old.

At once he started to the statue and delivered a punch into its belly. At once the statue reacted as its belly was pushed. Its hands swiftly slapped on Miles´ head with as much force as Miles himself put into the punch. At once Miles jumped away from the statue yelping in pain and holding his palms over his throbbing ears, jumping and twisting around as the others gasped.

"Miles, are you all right?"asked Lily in concern, but Miles swiftly gave out a loud laugh.

"You gotta be kidding... the ol´ _Wind in the Ears_...? I didn´t expect that..."he laughed even as he still fondled his ears.

"I also didn´t expect something like that..."nodded Billy, who moved closer to Chichi and Phil in curiosity at the statue, which returned to its original pose.

Chichi grinned.

"As I said, it packs a pretty good punch... well the ammount of rubber on it I´m not surprised much. I added springs on its limb jolts and the skeleton was very well built... that allows the statue to return to its original pose after the punches cease. The rest is basic physics – action and reaction. In other words, the more strength you punch it with, the more strength it returns in _its_ punches."

Billy gave Chichi an admiring look, Phil gave him a happy nod and Miles once more roared in pure joy.

"Aaaamazin, Chich...! You are truly a genius... this´ll be my favourite toy to play with."he exclaimed as he ran to the statue again and once more punched it.

The statue at once returned the punch with its opposite arm, but Miles was ready thistime. Swiftly blocking the incoming arm with his other hand and delivering another punch in the lower parts, the statue´s leg reacting thistime in a swift kick, which Miles blocked with his knee, laughing in pure joy at the training. Chichi, Phil and Billy moved closer laughing also and already making agreements, who would try the battle-dummy out next.

"Hoo-boy... so little to make them satisfied..."said Lola shaking her head with a small smile.

April and Lily giggled just as the boys whooped happily at Miles´ set of punches, kicks and blocks, which the statue answered to instantaniously.

"Boys will be boys..."chortled April, watching the boys with affectionate eyes.

"You can say that again."giggled Lily as she watched Phil punch the statue´s flying arm towards Miles, who in turn punched it away, Chichi blocked its flying leg and Billy evaded another kick, all four boys laughing.

"Well... I´m off to the kitchen. I´m kinda thirsty and Chichi honey-bun said, that the fridge is full of Coola."said April happily and without another word made her way into the Hidehole.

As she left Lola and Lily continued to watch the boys having a blast with the rubber statue, laughter and happy cheers ringing trough the air.

"So, Lily... did my little diversion help?"asked Lola curiously as she looked at her best friend.

Lily smiled remembering the small exchange.

"Kinda... I think I now understand a little better just what a childhood Miles had. I´m glad, that he turned out the way he did..."

Lola frowned a bit.

"Well... I would guess that there was not much love in his life... after what he told us of his first love, I would like him to finally find happiness. Just between you and me, Lily... Miles has grown on me a bit... as crazy and wild as he could be sometimes."she said earnestly, looking affectionately at Miles, her little brother and her boyfriend.

"He appretiates you very much, Lola. As well as the others."said Lily smilingly, though a bit unnecessarily.

"And what about you, Lily...? Are you really sure about this?"

As she turned to Lola, Lily´s face sported a determined look.

"More than ever, Lola. I will win his heart..."

...

"So... the sabotage attempts have gone unnoticed by the majority. But not to US, my brothers... I have assembled all the information here... Mark my words. We WILL find whoever is sabotaging the contest and throw him into jail TILL HE ROTS!"exclaimed Wiseman, slamming his hand on to his desk.

Nick, Tex and Archie gave a similar exclamation of agreement as they sat on their seats, behind their OWN desks which Wiseman had procured for them into his office, which was now as much THEIRS as well as his – something which was widely accepted by each and every police officer of the Beauvillage Police. The large room had many blackboards and bulletin-boards, that the foursome dedicated to their investigation. Also Archie, as the one who had the most experience with computers, worked for a few days to created a computer database for their cases. Tex as the main writer of the office had also made point to gather and write down all possible facts about the contest by now. Nick also made point to question many people straight after the second round. Now all the evidence was scattered across the room and the foursome were determined to find the answer to the sabotage.

"Well... let´s go over what is obvious first..."suggested Nick, pacing between the desks towards the large globus between Tex´s desk and a large blackboard.

Looking at the blackboard, he scanned the results of the second round as well as the first. Wiseman, Tex and Archie watched him in expectation as he mulled over what was written on there.

"Soooo... let´s begin with the top 5. I believe that whoever is behind the sabotage is determined to win this contest. We should therefore start there... from the first round, these 5 passed – Lis Milo, Cherie Peters, Candy Liferich, Hazel Summerville and Anabell Richerly."he said, looking at Tex who was already having his pen and pencil out, determined to write his every word down into his notebook.

"These five girls won the first round. Let´s look at the second round´s Top 5 and see who we stumble across, starting from the top – Lis Milo, Tamara Hoodwood, Irene Ivory, Cherie Peters and Hazel Summerville."

Tex wrote furiously as not to miss any fact.

"There is another fact I thought of... in order to get that kind of sabotage done... they have to have someone in the cast as a accomplice. Archie, who is present in the crew?"

Archie quickly ran his fingers across the keyboard of his computer.

"Billy Hubbub, Steve Rowan, Phil Conners, Victor Rogers, Joeseph Summerville, Maurice Chambers and Chichi Tofu."he recited checking the names.

"THAT´S IT! Soy-brain must be behind this!"exclaimed Tex, pointing to the cieling in revelation.

"Excellent, brother Tex! A real detective deduction!"exclaimed Wiseman from his desk.

Archie whooped too as Tex scratched his head sheepishly. Nick however paced around looking thoughtfull.

"Not that I wouldn´t believe it... but... what´s the connection to some of these girls?"he mused, posing the question more to himself than anyone else.

A moment´s silence endured.

"LIS! Rumor had it, that he made friends with the mystery girl!"remarked Archie.

Nick´s eyes went wide. He swiftly started pacing up and down, shaking his head a few times as though to clear it. Suddenly he turned to his brothers.

"We must make a small map in order to map the suspects."he exclaimed as though it should be obvious.

In one instant he moved towards Wiseman´s desk and stopped at the empty blackboard, grabbing a piece of chalk, at once starting to write down the names making a small diagram.

"First up we have to focus on the girls in question..."he said, at once writing the names down.

Wiseman, Tex and Archie looked on in pure awe as he finished writing and turned back to them.

"All right... here are the girls who are in the running."he said pointing to the names on the blackboard.

Turning back he started to write the names of the crew members.

"Now we have to find a connection to these girls."he said mulling everything over, determined to find a pattern.

At once he linked Lis´ name with Chichi´s.

"Next... who else from the crew has some connection with the contestants?"he asked once more turning to them.

"Hazel Summerville – Joe is her younger brother!"exclaimed Archie in revelation.

Nick at once linked the siblings and turned back.

"And Steve Rowan is reported in spending a lot of time with Cherie Peters."said Wiseman checking over his papers just to be sure.

Nodding Nick linked another pair of names. After a few minutes of checking, everything seemed very clear to Nick.

"All right, so our suspect pairs are Bio-trash and Lis, Rowan and Peters and the Summerville siblings. Another question is who they are after – who do these girls want to win a date with..."

Suddenly Wiseman whooped and made his way towards Nick embracing him happily.

"Amazing brother Nick! Absolutely amazing! You are thinking like a real crime-fighting genius! I see, that the cute blonde friend of yours has really charged you up with powerfull energy."

Nick´s face flushed bright red.

"Don´t YOU start too, brother Fred! That stuck-up blondie has nothing to do with it!"

Tex and Archie fixed him with a "yeah, right..."look and the red in his face immediately increased, as well as a muredrous look appeared on his face.

"I´ve already TOLD you ... ! You won´t catch me DEAD going out with Mia Liferich! AM I UNDERSTOOD?!"he roared the last part so fiercely, that his two peers took cover under the desks.

Wiseman however took no notice of it.

"You don´t have to be ashamed, brother Nick. I am most pleased, that you have found yourself such an amazing ally."he said clapping his back _encouragedly_.

Scrowling a bit he looked at Wiseman.

"Ally – yes... girlfriend – NEVER!"

The fierceness in his voice was too much for even Wiseman to miss. Raising an eyebrow, he shrugged.

"Well... if you say so, brother Nick... In any case, we should get a move-on... the third round is begining tommorow and I rely on you three to help me uncover this sabotage before something more serious happens."

Nick nodded and returned to the blackboard, happy that the subject was getting back on track.

"Now... we will have to investigate the suspects troughoutly... time to think of a strategy."he said, turning to Tex and Archie who were still peeking from beneath their tables.

...

Cherie was walking an all-too familiar path down her street.

"_I´m happy for his help and all, but all in all... I have no idea what could be done for the third round..._"she thought sadly, as she replayed the suggestion that Steve gave her yesterday.

_-Flashback-_

_Cherie was pacing up and down, now positively panicked. She has just got the contest envilope, which told her the details for round three. Not to mention, that the results of the second round weren´t very much to her liking. She scored only measly seven points! She was still in top five that´s for sure... but..._

"_Now what am I gonna do?! My position in the contest is not good at all."she exclaimed turning to Zoe, Nina and Steve – all of the sitting at their chairs in their empty classroom._

"_Its not that bad, Cherie..."piped up Steve, raising his arm into the air, like a first-grade child asking permission to speak from his teacher._

_Cherie´s eyes flashed._

"_Oh, yes it is! I´m in fourth place! FOURTH PLACE!"she exclaimed and all three remaining winced at her rage, though thistime it wasn´t directed at anyone in particular._

"_And now look at this stupid round...! A COOKING ROUND! __**Cooking?!**__"she exclaimed, scared of one single fact – a very serious one at that._

"_I DON´T KNOW HOW TO COOK!"_

_Steve at once made his way from his desk, closing the distance between them and grabbed her gently by the shoulders._

"_Cherie, please... calm down... we can get you trough the round."he said soothingly._

_Cherie fixed him a look which was a heavy mix of skepticism and worry._

"_How, Stevie...? I mean... I have no idea what to do for the round... how can I sabotage anyone...?"_

_Her voice and look were ones of despiration and she turned over his shoulder imploringly, hoping her two friends would have an idea._

"_Don´t ask me, Cherie... I can´t cook... I have no idea what to do."said Zoe apologeticly._

"_Me neighter."Nina piped up, looking very sorry indeed._

_Steve gasped at what he was hearing._

"_You guys are not serious."he breathed, terrified at the prospect._

_Nina and Zoe gave long sad sighs as they stood up._

"_You got it, Steve... its just the way it is."said Zoe in a defeated voice as she and Nina made for the door, locked in Cherie´s shocked gaze._

"_We´re very sorry for not being able to help you with this, Cherie..."said Nina sadly as the two made their way out of the classroom, leaving Steve and Cherie alone._

_Cherie directed her sights on the floor, a powerfull chill coming over her, shocked beyond her belief. Steve scrowled as they left – that was one of the reasons he didn´t like Zoe so much, she always gave up pretty fast. _

_He was broke out of his musings as he felt Cherie´s shoulders shaking and heared a few small sobs._

"_Cherie?"he asked, looking at her – her sight still fixed on the ground._

"_Now what do I do, Stevie?"she whispered miserably, her lower lip shaking._

"_I can´t cook a thing... and I can´t even cheat myself out..."_

"_You don´t need to, Cherie."he cut her off suddenly, making her raise her gaze and settle it on his eyes._

_Cherie was stunned to see a rare, determined flash prominent in his eyes._

"_Cherie, you can get past this round without any cheating at all. You just have to believe me."_

_Cherie bit her lower lip. Steve was emiting something that made her feel... safe, comforted and consoled... but..._

"_I believe you, Stevie... but... but how? I mean... I can´t cook a thing and..."_

_She was once more cut off as she felt Steve´s hands tighten on her shoulders and the determined flash positively shining in his deep brown eyes._

"_But __**I**__ can..."he said._

_-End of Flashback-_

Replaying the memory, she felt her lips twitch into a small smile. He really had a way of making her feel better... Smiling happily, she decided to completly trust him on this as she stood at the main door of the Rowan family house. Pressing her finger to the doorbell, she wondered just what plan did Steve had in mind. She also had to admit to herself, that she was very surprised by his revelation. In all the years she known him, never once did he say anything about being able to cook. The front door opened and there stood Steve´s mother Marion, smiling at her warmly.

"Hello, Cherie... come on in, sweetie... Stevie is already expecting you."she said kindly, ushering the girl into the house.

Cherie smiled gratefully as she followed Mrs Rowan trough the house. Looking around she felt right at home here, dispite the simple furniture and the... well... _normal_ air the house gave. Dispite the fact, that glamour was her lifestyle she couldn´t ignore the sence of calm she felt everytime she visited over the years. Plus the fact, that Mrs Rowan was one of the sweetest beings on Earth – Cherie had no question where her son´s sweet and caring personality originated. Dispite the plain clothes the older red haired woman was wearing, Cherie viewed her with utmost respect and affection. Cherie was however slightly surprised. Instead of directing her upstairs into Steve´s room, she was leading her to the kitchen.

"Stevie? Cherie is here."called Mrs Rowan as she opened the kitchen door.

As Cherie entered behind her, she gasped. There in the kitchen Steve was standing beside the stove preparing something on a frying pan. As she scanned the kitchen she noticed, that the kitchen table was full of groceries and various kitchen-tools. Also there was a very pleasant smell in the air... something that smelled like...

"Pancakes?"she breathed in amazement.

Steve turned from the stove and grinned at Cherie.

"Seeing with how tense you were today, I guessed you´d be hungry when you arrived, so..."he explained happily.

Over the years he already knew her little habits, one of which he found very troubling over the years – whenever Cherie gets too tense about something, she refuses to eat a thing, no matter how hungry she gets – luckily, Steve thought of a foo-proof plan to remedy that...

"So you´ve made pancakes – _my favourite_!"exclaimed Cherie happily as she closed the distance between them and gave him an affectionate hug.

"Well...well... I ..."he stammered sheepishly, his face so red, that it completly outshone the color of his hair and was going deeper as Cherie was tightening her hold on him.

Mrs Rowan beamed happily at the scene in front of her. She had to admit, her son has thought up of a most subtle way to show the dear girl his undying love.

"_Well... as they say, a way to someone´s heart is trough the stomach._"she thought smilingly as she saw them separate.

Judging by what she´d seen, plus what she knew already, she was certain that Steve´s efforts would eventually have their success.

"Well... I´ll leave you two alone now. Enjoy your pancakes, Cherie... and your lesson."she said with a small smirk as she closed the kitchen door, but not without shooting the pair of them an overjoyed smile.

As she left, Cherie fixed Steve a suspitious stare.

"Lesson?"

Steve flushed again.

"Well... since the third round is a cooking one, I figured we could refrain from cheating for once and actually do things fair and square."

Cherie raised an eyebrow.

"How, _Steven_? Afterall I can´t cook..."

Steve grinned just as he moved to take the last of the pancakes off the frying pan.

"But...as I said – I CAN. And I can teach you..."

Cherie fixed him with a completly wide-eyed look.

"You are NOT serious... ME? Cooking? You have to be out of your mind!"

Steve´s face took on a very rare defencive expression.

"What´s so wrong about that, Cherie?! Everyone should know how to cook some simple dishes, just so they can take care of themselfs... and anyway, cooking is not so bad as you make it out to be..."

Cherie almost flinched at his fierce reasoning, but couldn´t deny that he DID have a point.

"B... but, Stevie..."she started, but Steve busied himself with adding something to the pancakes, his back turned to her.

The lack of responce made Cherie feel another feeling – something so sad, that it almost brought tears to her eyes. Thinking that she might´ve really offended him, she moved forward wanting to make this right. However Steve suddenly turned around, his face sporting a happy smile.

"All done... sit down Cherie... your favourite food is ready for you..."

Before she could say anything in reply, her stomach gave out an allmighty roar. Blushing deeply she fixed Steve a shy smile, just as Steve laughed happily. Obeying him, she allowed herself to be seated behind the kitchen table with Steve serving her the pancakes with the elegance of a top-restaurant waiter. Taking a seat on the opposite side of her, he fixed her an eager stare as she took the utensils into her hands. Blushing at the bright attention she was recieving, she cut a small piece of the pancakes and placed it into her mouth.

That one piece was what started it... Cherie almost melted at the sweet taste. Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself gobbling the entire pancakes as though she didn´t eat any food for an entire year. Steve let out an overjoyed happy giggle – the sound filling her ears in pretty much the same way her stomach was filled. All of a sudden she felt like the top of the world, being so troughoutly pampered by this happy boy. It made her want to...

"_What AM I thinking?!_"she thought panickly, just as she finished the pancakes.

The thought panicked her so much, she barely registered Steve putting away her empty plate and washing it in the dresser.

"So, Cherie... its time we begin our lesson."said Steve over his shoulder.

Taken aback by this mix of new feelings, Cherie felt herself nod.

...

Two days later, the Rising Sun restaurant was packed full. A large area of the street was sectioned off infront of it as well, a few food and refreshment stands were set nearby to tend to the needs of the happy fans, who were not fortunate enough to secure themselfs seats inside the restaurant – the place holding only a small enough room for it, plus the resturant´s owner, Monsieur Michell Saveur had been very troublesome to negotiate with. Not only he provided the setting for the third round, but he also had to endure the presence of his top competitor in Beauvillage – Beth Hubbub. Needless to say, that the two were not exactly on friendly terms. And Beth´s new little idea didn´t exactly help.

"I´m not sure you should´ve done this, Mom..."whispered Billy as the pair watched out the restaurant´s window, where the few stands, surrounded by eager and hungry people were standing.

Among them, was one of her Burger Palace stands, which was now served by none other than Titus Hubbub himself – positively bullied into doing this by his darling wife, Titus was looking troughoutly miserable, not to mention annoyed.

"Oh hush, Billy... You know I can´t pass up on an oppoturnity like this."she said quietly, her eyes narrowed in an almost sadistic delight at the sight of her rival, who was now completly shaking from anger – being absolutely unable to do anything about the situation.

Billy sighed at his mother´s scheme.

"Come on... the show is about to start."said a feminine voice from behind them.

Turning they saw that Violet Tofu was standing behind them, but unlike Beth, she didn´t bother to change her ussual clothing. Beth was dressed in her special new Burger Palace uniform – something which only further enraged Monsieur Saveur, who shot the three of them his coldest glare before turning on his heel and storming off into the other room.

"Oh my... what a wave of negative energy... what is the story behind you two, Beth?"asked Mom Tofu in small wonder.

Beth giggled a bit.

"Well, Vi... me and Michell go a long way back... we were rivals even as we grew up in West Side City. If I remember correctly, we were rivals since we were 10 years old in pretty much everything we did."

Both Mom and Billy gaped at Beth – this piece of information was unknown even to her son. Both of them NOW understood, just why she was in such a rivalry with the Rising Sun. Beth let out a menacing laugh.

"But thistime I´ll get on ahead... Michell doesn´t stand a chance."

Billy shared a look with Mom Tofu and both desperately searched for a change of subject.

Luckily the solution presented itself in the form of Chichi Tofu, who came into the room along with Mayor Haveitall and Martin "Trashbin" Skylark walking past them and stopping at the window to peer at the going-ons outside.

"Don´t worry... I have the rest of the boys on the lookout and we already double-checked all the appliances. No sabotage will happen this round. I promise."said Chichi in complete confidence.

"I really hope you´re right, Chichi-m´boy... Afterall there´s a LOT depending on it."said an anxtious Mayor Haveitall.

"I´ll take Chichi´s word for it, mayor."said Trashbin staunchly, grabbing Chichi on the shoulder.

The mayor actually breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed Chichi´s other shoulder.

"All right... eventhough I still AM a bit anxtious, I want you to know that I trust you, Chichi-m´boy..."

Chichi flashed the two men his infamous tenthousand-watt smile.

Suddenly he was embraced affectionately from behind by none other than his ever-loving mother.

"That´s my wise little sunflower seedling. I´m so proud of you, Chichi."she breathed, cuddling closer to her precious son.

Turning around he grinned the very same smile at his Mom

"Thanks Mom..."he breathed quietly, but obviously moved with emotion and the others present surpressed an affectionate "awwww".

"Come on, guys... time to get this show on the road."yelled Miles from the other side of the room, holding the door leading to the kitchen open.

As the entire group moved into the kitchen they saw, that several of the supply stores were overturned and Monsieur Michell was yelling at someone. Answering to their confused looks, Miles snickered.

"Well our beloved detective foursome insisted that the crew´s checking of the appliances was not enough and that the ingredients in the storage room has to be checked as well.

Returned from the storage room all four of the Brotherhood of the Wise were dirtied in something. Apparently Wiseman and Archie made a small "check-up" on the chocolate stores and their faces were stained here and there in the sweet substance, both of them grinning as though they were on cloud nine. Tex on the other hand couldn´t resist not taking a sample of the various fruit jams. Nick, though haven´t sampled a thing himself had a small accident in the main storage room – convinced that the large bag there could hide something to be used for the sabotage, he dived into it, only to find out that the bag held a giant load of flour – now his entire upper body was completly white and he was still sneezing here and there, raising a white dust cloud whenever he did.

"Calm down, mister Gishel... at least we know, that the supplies are completly okay."defended Wiseman calmly.

"How can I calm down?! You completly besmirched my supplies! How am I supposed to cook my specialities NOW?!"the man exclaimed, completly beside himself.

"But you´re not cooking anything today – the girls are the ones who are going to cook."Archie pointed out smartly.

"That is NOT the point, you stupid boy!"the man yelled angrily.

"As Beauvillage´s Brotherhood of the Wise it is our duty to put our own safety on the line. The food may have held something unpleasant in order to sabotage the contest, so we HAD to make sure."said Nick defiantly, pumping his chest proudly and drawing a flour dust cloud, which made all of them cough.

"_cough_... Exaxtly, brother... _cough_... Nick... it is our..._cough_... duty."nodded Wiseman, while still coughing along with the others.

The crowd, which was sitting in the make-shift placed bult for them by the crew were a bit wary of the row, as well as the contestants.

"Oh, I really wish they would drop it already."exclaimed an exaspirated Mia as Monsieur Saveur remarked angrily again.

"Don´t you think they look cool?"breathed Candy, gesturing to Wiseman and Nick, who were standing beside eachother even as the argument continued.

Mia fixed her an exaspirated look.

"YOU might think they do..."

Candy however took no note of her tone and put her arm around her shoulder.

"Come now, Mia... I know that you are rooting for your sweetheart."

Mia instantly took a large breath, her hair almost spiking with anger.

"You dumbass COW! _ME _AND _NICK_?! GET _REAL_!"

Candy once more laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Say no more, little sis... I know your heart beats for this boy, just like..."

"DOES **NOT!**"

"And you really seem made for eachother..."

"WE´RE _**NOT!**_"

"And I know you´ll be having many little nieces and nephews of mine..."

"_**AAAAARGH! I CAN´T STAND YOU! DROP DEAD ALREADY, YOU STUPID COW!**_"she yelled, completly red-faced for the entire room to hear, outvoicing even the argument before storming away from her elder sister in a towering rage, one that made several people in her way back away and make room for her to pass, utterly terrified of the sight she made.

Still growling, she sat besides April, Chloe, Emily and Abbygail and several of her classmates, all of whom regarded her warily, even fearfully.

"Sheesh...calm down a bit, Mia."advised Chloe, rolling her eyes.

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN WITH A BLOCKHEAD SISTER LIKE THAT?!"

The respoce made most of the boys from her class including Oliver flinch. Liam actually hid himself behind Alice, eventhough he was far wider than her.

"Jeeez Blondie... tone it down for God´s sake."came a voice Mia knew more than well by now.

But it did little to cool her rage. Sniffing, she swiftly directed an ice-cold glare to the owner of the voice.

"Oh shut up, whiteface! I can´t tell who gets on my nerves more! My brain-damaged sister or YOU! What do you want anyways?! Come to have a nice little laugh?!"she ranted, working herself up once more.

Completly unfazed by her obvious anger, which was leaving most of their other peers shaking in fright, Nick however rolled his eyes.

"Actually... I wanted to tha...tha...AAACHOOO!"

A giant cloud of flour came off him, covering his classmates along with Mia who was the first to recieve the face-full.

"NIIIIICK!"she growled icily when she stopped coughing.

"Hey, sorry Blondie... I didn´t mean to..."Nick swiftly apologized and started to brush some of the flour off her shoulders.

His gesture seemed to have stopped the explosion that Mia wanted to unleash on this... this... she wasn´t even sure what to call him now, for she was feeling a set of very mixed feelings – one part of her wanted to slap him with all her might, while the other was franticly telling her that he had done nothing so badly wrong and that he was trying to make up for the little that happened – something which deserved a gesture of pure affection rather than violence.

"Anyways, Blondie..."he started, breaking her line of thought.

"... Brother Fred told me and the boys to ask our allies for help, since we´re gonna go uncover the cheating and sabotage that´s been done... and...and..."he trailed off, suddenly looking the other way, his cheeks brightening.

Mia´s cheeks were brightening as well.

"You mean, I´m your... your... _ally_?"she asked, almost unsure how to take this piece of information.

Nick fixed her with a small look and Mia was almost shocked to see shyness there.

"Well... yeah..."he whispered blushingly.

It took a small moment for her to respond – half of her still wasn´t sure how to deal with this, but the other one, for reasons she couldn´t grasp, was jumping up and down in pure joy. Fighting this inner battle, she failed to notice an overjoyed Emily taking Archie´s reached hand and kissing him in utter joy, as he too asked her for help. Also Tex, blushing like and stammering like an idiot asked Abbygail to come along, something the girl did with obvious happiness before Tex could even finish his plea. Mia also failed to notice the incredulous looks the boys of her class were shooting them, as well as the lovestruck looks of the girls. She even failed to notice Chloe folding her arms in a statisfied way and muttering "I knew it." to April and Oliver. Finally reaching a decidion she looked at Nick, who was standing there defiantly, his face as red as a tomato.

"All right... you got it..._ally_..."she whispered, a small smile playing on her lips as she made her way over the audience sector and came to meet him.

"But let´s get something straight, Blondie... you and I are _allies_ – nothing more, GET IT?! No lovey-dovey stuff!"he warned blushingly as soon as she reached him.

Mia let out a small giggle and met his challenging gaze with one of her own.

"You got it, monkey-face... and..."she let out another giggle.

"Lovey-dovey stuff?! With YOU?! That´s a good one."

Nick scrowled at her giggle, but suddenly she grabbed his hand and steered him towards the place, where the crew was assembling along with the guests, Mr Skylark and the mayor.

As they moved past the contestants, Candy watched them with happy eyes. Letting out a deep lovesick sigh, to her classmate and best friend Mary, who came in to wish her good luck.

"Those two are just made for eachother..."

Mary chuckled a bit and shook her head. Candy however turned her sights to the place, where the three judges stood and chatted.

"And now Mary, its time to go get the sweetheart who is made for _me_..."she whispered, her determined eyes watching one judge in particular – the one who has captured her heart.

...

A few minutes later, the cameras were rolling, the people were cheering and clapping as the three judges once more presented themselfs to the crowd. Rodney Philips once more looking plainly dressed in a simple light blue longsleeved shirt and black trousers. Wiseman was full on in his detective coat, being the only one of the brotherhood who was, and in his ussual attire – sunglasses included. With Miles on the other hand, the sunglasses were the only thing he took from his everyday attire. Now dressed in simple sneakers, short grey pants and a shortsleeved red T-shirt that had a large pig´s head in the middle and above it were written the words "Chow Champ". He was drawing the laughter of many in the audience and responding to it with some happy gestures of his own.

"Our dear judges will be tasting the results of our girls´ work."announced Lola, grinning at the three of them.

"However... as we all can imagine, 20 portions of food is way too much for anyone to eat. That is why, the judges have decided to share their portions of food with the hard-working boys of our crew."said Angie, directing the crowd´s sight to the seven boys, all of which made their gestures of acnowledgement – Chichi, Phil and Billy simply smiled and waved, Joe and Steve scratched their heads sheepishly blushing like mad, while Maurice and Victor looked very shy.

Wiseman however took the microphone away from Lola.

"An not to mention my three brothers and their allies."he announced and gestured to his group.

Standing there, eachone of the brotherhood and the girls also gave their separate gestures of acknowledgment – Archie and Tex waved, Emily and Abbygail shied away and Nick and Mia folded their arms importaintly as one. Most of the crowd looked at eachother in confusion. Miles however swiftly took the other microphone from Angie and stepped infront of Wiseman.

"Of course, we´ll happily share the food along with them... I mean look at the three of us, girls..."he announced pointing to Wiseman and Rodney.

"You wouldn´t like us handsome young judges getting all fat on you..."he finished good-naturedly.

The confusion of the crowd was broken and instantly replaced by approoving laughter and cheers. Rodney breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in appretiation at Miles´ quick save. Lola quickly took the microphone from Wiseman, before he could say any more.

"And now I think its time to introduce our contestants..."she announced and pointed to the place, where the twenty girls were now standing.

Most were dressed quite plainly in simple attire, but also had aprons and some like Candy even white longsleeved shirts and cooking hats. Lis, though wearing her mask had also dressed quite plainly, but her combination of a dark pink shirt and a light blue long - apron was something that made her stand out a bit. Cherie on the other hand was dressed completly plainly in her everyday attire and looking extremly calm and confident.

"A nice color combo..."whispered Miles to Lola as the applause rang, while looking hungirly at Lis.

"Hm... I could´ve sworn I know that combo..."he mused and Lola took secret pleasure in the remark – maybe he´ll figure out, who Lis _is_...

"The girls, as in the previous round will have a two hour limit, during which time they can use this wonderous kitchen to cook their best possible dish. Our respective judges will then dish out their verdict... Judge Philips..."said Angie before passing the microphone to Rodney, but not without a small wink at him – something that made his cheeks color a bit. He took a few seconds to recompose himself, before looking smilingly at the crowd.

"My dear contestants... as you know... this round is kinda the final breaker. There are twenty of you and with the final round looming, we have to make things harder for you. So thistime,

the requirement will be a little different. Since there is a relatively big point gap between those with least points and the top five – we decided to anull the entire point system up until now."

Rodney´s words stirred a giant gasped from everyone in the restaurant. Rodney raised his unoccupied hand in order to speak.

"I know most of you, especially the top five will find this unfair, but the opposite is true. This round is to be the round which will send the top to the finals. And me, judge Miles and judge Wiseman want to give each and everyone of you girls an equal fighting chance. So thistime no points will be given out, only the express pass from the three of us. I assure each and everyone of you all, that we will be most impartial in this... "he said with obvious seriousness.

The crowd was stunned into silence and the contesting girls exchanged worried glances. Almost every one of them looked worried except three – Candy, Cherie and Lis, who seemed unfazed by this new change in rules – something that chaught the attention of both the brotherhood and Chichi.

"Something´s a miss in here..."muttered Chichi, whil Billy and Phil shot him a small curious look.

"Look brother Nick... that Lis girl is completly calm."whispered Archie, pointing with his finger to the opposite side of the room, where Lis Milo was standing.

"Archie... its rude to point."Emily rebuked him gently, while grabbing his outstretched arm.

Archie swiftly blushed ashamedly and lowered his arm.

"But he´s right... looks like you theory is right."noted Tex , his eyes narrowing at the said girl.

Nick however watched the girls as though mulling things over.

"Its not just the mystery girl who´s all calm... Look, Nick... that Ultra-cow sister of mine is too..."said Mia, grabbing Nick´s arm while still watching her sister.

Nick raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.

"You think its HER cheating?"he asked geniuilly astonished.

Mia sniffed.

"How else could a brain-damaged airhead like her get so far...no one is that lucky!"

Nick´s eyes opened in revelation.

"Looks like we have many more things to watch out for."he muttered.

Mia nodded just as Michael Miles took the microphone from Philips.

"My fair competing ladies, I want to confirm what Rodney said... we will be extremly impartial... Girls, believe me... Milesey here would already proclaim all of you the most beautyfull flowers of Beauvillage..."said Miles, adressing the contestants – most of which positively swooned on the spot, blushing like crazy.

"... hoooowever... as you all know this is a contest and what fun would that be if all of you would win, right? Someone just HAS to be the best... "

His carefree voice and boyish grin worked for all its worth and an air of acceptance gripped the restaurant, the contestant´s tenseness lifted in a second and replaced by sheer and utter determination. Lola couldn´t help but grin appretiatively.

"_Smooth talking, Michael Miles... really smooth._"she thought, her eyes locked on Miles in obvious affection as the crowd sprang into happy applause.

However she was suddenly a bit confused as Miles smoothly moved towards her.

"And now I believe, its time to introduce our dear guests, who will help us by giving some of their advice based on their own professional experience... "said Miles before he turned to Lola.

"Ms beautyfull, wonderfull, amazing, narratin´ Lola... _May I_?"he asked nonchalantly giving a small bow.

Lola couldn´t help but giggle at his antics as he took her hand and pressed a small gentlemanly kiss on it.

"Why of course, Mr incredible, handsome, dashing, judgin´Miles..."she agreed in good humor and the crowd have out another cheer coupled by a few "awwws".

Miles grinned at her like he was the top of the world, before turning to the crowd again.

"Cooool... aaaand without further ado, peoplezzz... allow me to intorduce our precious guests... fiiiiiirst up we have here Beauvillage´s master of good quasigne, that magician of good taste and the owner of this very Rising Sun restaurant – Monsieur Michell Saaaaveour..."

The crowd sprang into applause as Monsieur Michell stepped up to present himself to the crowd, but not before shooting a smirk at Beth, who fummed.

"Neeext up, we have our town´s own hamburger queen... that one and only mistress of fabulous fast food... folks give it up for Beeeth Hubbub."

The crowd once more applaused as Beth stepped up, taking a place next to Monsieur Michell, returning him the smirk as _he_ fummed.

"Aaaand last, but definitely NOT least... our expert on healthy nutrition... that amazing magician of Green kitchen... our very own... Mrs Violet Toooofu..."

Mom Tofu approached the applauding crowd happily, though there were sighns of shyness evident on her face.

"My thornless rose... my beautyfull wildflower...my one and only thornless rose..."rang from the crowd and there was no doubt in anyone´s mind just WHO was shouting that.

Mom turned in the direction of that voice and waved teary-eyed at Pop, who was completly beside himself with utter joy and like her sporting the tears of that happiness. Miles grinned happily as he watched it.

"Folks... let´s give a special applause to Mom and Pop Toooofu."he announced and the crowd obeyed the command without question.

In the crowd the Spocks, the Robins, the Conners, the Rowans and even some of Lola and Chichi´s classmates including Chloe and April joined into the applause happily.

"Weeelll... stay tuned folks... in a few moments the countdown to the cookout begins."he announced and the cameraman gave a hand-signal, that the transmission was over.

As the contestants started to move towards the kitchen places and the guests grouped with the judges, Chichi called his crew to him.

"All right guys... first up, Mr Skylark had given me this envilope to share among us."said Chichi drawing an envilope from the breast posket of his vest.

"Woah, Chichi..."breathed Phil as Chichi took out the bills.

"Mr Skylark felt that we deserve a great reward for our work..."he said sheepishly as he passed a bill to each of the crew.

"Chichi... this is a...a..."breathed Victor completly awed.

"A hundred dollar bill? Chichi...!"said Joe shaking his head.

Phil grinned at his best friend.

"You´ve had nothing to do with this I suppose."he said smirking.

Chichi fixed him a defiant look.

"No I didn´t. In fact, it was Trashbin who gave this money to us. He said that to contest was drawing so much popularity, that this money is nothing more than leftovers."he whispered to Phil.

"Well... I´m _certainly_ not complaining."breathed Billy, already pocketing his hundred dollar bill.

Chichi cleared his throat breaking the rest of the crew from their small transe.

"In any case guys... we´re to keep a lookout for any sighn of damaging appliances and sabotage. I promised the mayor, that this round no sabotage would be done – and I hope you will all help me keep that promise."

"You got it, Chichi!"exclaimed Victor punching his fist into the air, the rest of the crowd following suit.

As they separated towards their intended stations Chichi took Phil and Billy aside.

"Don´t want to be paranoid guys, but keep an eye out on Cherie. She was looking way too calm during Professor Philips´ announcement."he said quietly and Phil nodded.

"I´m still not sure she has something to do with this Chichi."noted Billy hesistantly.

"All the same Billy... we´d best keep a lookout."reasoned Chichi and Billy also nodded.

Unbeknowst to them, their conversation was heared by none other than Steve Rowan.

"_Believe me, Chichi... thistime... there won´t be any need for sabotage._"he thought happily as he waved to Cherie, who was now just behind her cooking section – Cherie returning the gesture with giddy happiness.

...

The two hour limit was already spent and the show took much progress. Both Chichi´s crew and Wiseman´s brotherhood were still on the lookout but still failing to find one single piece of evidence of sabotage. The three guests were interviewed many times to give their opinions. This turned into a two-sided battle of Beth and Michell, who promptly tried to give their best possible kitchen advice – turning into a word battle, that had to be cut off by Miles and the narrating pair. Mom Tofu also expressed her opinions of the ingedients ( especially meat) which also had to be saved by the judge-narrator combo. However the girls seemed to fare considerably well. Emboldened by Miles´ support each one of the twenty contestants took to their cooking with much enthusiasm. All of them looked very professional and some even helped one another in their tasks by sharing the tasks of cutting the vegetables – there was a real air of friendship in the air, mixing along with the sweet smells of cooking food. All were under the watchfull eye of both Chichi and his crew and the brotherhood and their allies. Their snooping however didn´t go without small accidents. As Archie and Emily looked on, Archie suddenly chaught wind of an amazingly good smell. With hungry eyes and a grumbling stomach he followed it, hand in hand with his girlfriend.

"Archie... not again..."sighed Emily as Archie´s stomach gave out another growl.

Archie looked at her innocently, but his cheeks were red – clear evidence of what she suspected.

"You haven´t eaten all day again, have you?"she asked, her eyes narrowing.

Archie´s blush deepened.

"Brotherhood business, Emmy..."he answered simply as though that explained everything.

Emily sighed deeply and took him into her arms.

"Archie... you can´t keep doing this to yourself. You and the others too... you have to eat something..."she implored smartly and for once, Archie was actually listening to someone.

"Well... okay Emmy... I´ll do it for you..."he said in a small voice as he cuddled into the embrace.

Emily´s lips turned to a radiant smile right before they crashed on to Archie´s. Halfway into the kiss however, Archie´s stomach announced itself again.

"I can´t wait for the end of the round... I really AM hungry..."he whispered making his girlfriend giggle happily.

Another giggle right after them sounded, promting them to turn their heads to the source, who was none other than Tammy Goodwood.

"Don´t worry you two... there´ll be plenty of food to go around."she told them grinning happily as she continued her work on the sweet smelling food.

Emily smiled and moved closer still with her hand wrapped around Archie´s.

"So... what´cha cooking, Tammy?"she asked smilingly.

Tammy grinned at her, being on very good terms with Emily dispite the 6 year gap.

"Well its my masterpiece – my Cabbage Pig Blast."she announced proudly just as she finished cutting up small pieces of pork meat and placing them on a frying pan.

Emily couldn´t help but giggle at the name of it.

"Sounds lovely... and smells terrific."she said good-naturely.

Archie seemed to agree with her, because he was taking the scent deeply into himself and his stomach was grumbling once more. The two girls giggled and Tammy grinned at him.

"Wait a mo, hun... I think you should have a few pieces to silence the beast."

Archie blushed deeply and turned his head away shyly.

"You... you don´t have to worry about m...OOOOOOUCH!"

He yelled, jumping up and down and clutching his hand with the other. The girls looked in alarm and quickly pieced what happened – as he turned away, he placed his left hand on the stove, however it was one of Monsiour Saveour´s automatic cooking stoves and Archie placed his palm on exactly the spot, which was still hot from the cooking. The girls wasted not a moment. Emily swiftly grabbed Archie and forced him to stop jumping and Tammy just as swiftly took to the kitchen´s giant icebox and took out an icepack. Archie winced and whimpered as Tammy applied the icebox on his burnt palm, Emily who had her arms around him rubbed his back soothingly and whispered into his ear to calm him down.

"Sheesh little guy, THAT´S why you boys should stay out of the kitchen."joked Tammy smilingly as she returned to the frying pan, Emily sitting down with Archie nearby.

"She´s kinda right, teddy-bear. You really should be more carefull."said Emily quietly, still holding the icepack on his open palm.

Archie looked at the ground in shame. Knowing exactly what was going on trough her boyfriend´s mind, Emily swiftly placed a loving kiss on his cheek.

"But that´s what you´ve got us girls for, you know."

Now Archie looked positively dumbfounded at this piece of information.

"She´s right, you know... where would you boys be without us?"added Tammy good-naturedly as she moved towards them holding a fork in her hand.

On the tip of the fork was a piece of the pork meat, she placed on the frying pan just moments before, but now it was cooked, gold-colored, warm and smelling amazingly. Archie instantly looked from the piece to Tammy´s smiling face.

"Here tiny-one... a sneak preview."she said with a wink feeding him the piece.

Archie opened his mouth obediently and allowed Tammy to place the small piece of pork into his mouth. His eyes flashed open at the amazing taste and for possibly the first time in his life, he chewed slowly, savouring the taste as much as he could. Emily giggled affectionately and she placed a kiss on the top of his head.

"See, teddy-bear... where would you be without us?"

Archie smiled up at his girlfriend, completly ignoring the pain in his hand, just as Tammy was coming back with another piece of meat.

Unbeknowst to them, they were being watched.

"Well look at that... isn´t someone lucky."giggled Lola as she watched the exchange.

"That´s an understatement. Being pampered by two girls like that."nodded Lis smilingly over her work place a giant bowl in her hands as she proceeded to mix the ingredients.

"Come on girls... let´s not get jealous here."added Angie happily.

The remaining two girls let out giggles.

"Not getting jealous, Angie... buuuut... let´s just say, that the scene IS giving me ideas."noted Lola mischievously, her eyebrows wiggling as she turned to look at her boyfriend, who was now dutyfully watching for any sighns of cheating along with Phil and Steve.

"Its not just _you_ getting ideas, Lola."noted Lis smilingly as she looked the opposide side to the judge´s table, where Miles was.

"Oh no, you two... now you got ME thinking too."whispered Angie giddingly, looking at exactly the same spot Lis was, for Miles was chatting animatedly with Rodney.

Suddenly a loud paired scream rang trough the entire kitchen.

"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE?!"

Everyone´s head snapped to the source of the sound, where Candy was working, both Beth and Mom surveying her work with looks of pure horror in their eyes. Candy looked at them innocently from her work even as the crew, brotherhood and the judges ran towards them.

"Oh... its my brilliant idea for my one and only _Homemade Ultraburgers Deluxe_."she announced proudly, taking their shocked reactions completly the wrong way even as she reached for another ingredient – the two women gasping at seeing what it was.

"_Artoficial flavouring?!_"breathed Mom, her face deathly white.

"Forget that... but _Blueberry Type B?! _That´s _totally_ _**wrong**_..."breathed Beth, though Candy didn´t hear that statement as she took the bottle of the ingredient over the bowl, where she was making the hamburger meat.

However she seemed to have trouble getting it out of the bottle. She shook the open bottle, turned it around over the bowl, shook it numerous times, but still it wouldn´t budge. Finally with her other hand she slapped the bottom side of the bottle and instantly a great ammount of a powdery green-yellow substance fell into the bowl. Candy looked at it for a few seconds and then started mixing the thing happily.

"Oh, well... the more the better..."she announced happily.

This was too much for both Beth and Mom. The two women swooned on the spot and fainted, falling backwards. Luckily their respective sons were there to catch them. Both Chichi and Billy lowered their mothers gently on the ground.

"Jeez... some people sure have sensitive stomachs..."remarked Nick, earning himself a few glares.

"Not really surprising considering WHO´S cooking."noted Mia directing _her_ glare on Candy.

"Oh don´t worry, sis... I´ll be sure to make enough for everyone. You can sample them too."called Candy kindly from her work.

"Forget it, you brain-damaged COW! I´d rather eat **earthworms**."remarked Mia angrily before grabbing Nick by the collar and started to yank him away from the spot.

"Hey... blondie?! What d´you think you´re doin´?!"yelled Nick, but Mia persistently pulled him away.

"We have a job to do, remember?! And I´d better NOT catch you eating that garbage of hers."

Nick made an angry retort, but allowed himself to be pulled to the other side of the room.

"You´d better get back to your posts."advised Wiseman to Archie, Emily, Tex and Abbygail.

The foursome nodded and also made their escape.

"Ditto for you guys... me and Billy will handle this."said Chichi as he and Billy were still trying to revive their mothers.

The other boys nodded and left, but Miles, Rodney, Wiseman, Angie and Lola remained. Both boys were fanning their Mom´s faces with their hands, desperate to bring them back to consiousness. It appeared, that Chichi was having more success than Billy – Mom opened her eyes weakly and looked imploringly at her son.

"Chichi... sweet artichoke... please... promise me... that you won´t eat any of that... that... that FOOD MONSTER."she pleaded weakly, still not getting up.

Chichi smiled kindly at her.

"Of course I won´t, Mom..."he said encouragingly.

"I like Beth´s hamburgers more anyway..."he added quietly in an afterthought, while shooting a small glance at Candy.

Mom´s eyes widened and she gasped.

Lola slapped her forehead and Miles let out a low whistle, even as Chichi gasped and clapped a hand to his mouth, realizing just _what_ he said, but... too late. Mom was out cold again.

"Hoo boy... very bad choice of words, genius-boy."noted Miles, shaking his head.

"For once, Miles... I agree with you."noted Lola.

Chichi was swiftly fanning infront of Mom´s face again, determined to rectify his mistake.

"No, no... Mom... Moooom... come on... I like your Dandylion surprise better..."he stammered, before starting to try his luck with many of Mom´s famous recipies, but to no avail.

Beside him, Billy was having about the same luck with Beth.

...

With the elegance of a well-mannered gentleman, Rodney Philips took the first mouthfull of the first food to judge.

"Hm... very sweet taste... and the combination with the sour cabbage is very well done, Tammy."he said kindly.

Standing in front of the judge´s table, Tammy Hoodwood smiled in appretiation.

"Thanks, professor."

Philips took another mouthfull and turned to his other two collagues.

"Well boys... what do you... think?"he finished unsurely as he looked at Miles, who was sitting next to him.

Miles was litterally wolfing down his protion as though he hadn´t eaten for weeks.

"Amazin... perfect... you´ve got my vote... sweetie..."he said between the chewing, not bothering to notice, that he was eating so feverishly, that small pieces of his food were flying all over the table.

"Charming... you have all the manners of a **pig**."noted Wiseman, sitting on his other side.

"C´mon... Wisey... its called... Cabbage PIG Blast, right? And you´re right, Tammy... It IS a blast. Perfect work."remarked Miles, giving Tammy a thumbs-up.

As the judges were eating, they were making notes into their small notepads. They were not the only ones enjoying the meal though. Members of both the crew and the brotherhood were sitting at nearby tables made for them and were now helping themselfs to a small feast – all the food the girls cooked, minus the three small portions for the judges to judge. Billy and Phil were helping themselfs to pancakes made by Alanna Aberfoth, Steve to Cherie´s speciality, sending her a thumbs-up and a look of utter pride, Archie was being fed Tammy´s Pig Blast by his girlfriend, who seemed to be enjoying the task of sharing the food with him, Abbygail was trying to get Tex to try the speciality made by her elder sister Alanna, Nick and Mia were arguing over which dish was better tasting – everyone seemed to be having a blast. All except of two certain siblings, who were standing besides their Mom, Beth Hubbub and Monsieur Michell.

"I´m so happy, that you decided not to taste any of that."remarked Mom watching her two children with a look of relief.

Lola and Chichi shared a small look, both were hungry like wolves but they didn´t want to risk Mom fainting again – not when it took almost 20 minutes to snap her out of it.

"Not a problem, Mom."said Lola in an convincing voice.

"Yeah... we´re not hungry anyway..."nodded Chichi, but his stomach was growling the very opposite.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

The loud scream of Michael Miles brought them back to reality in an instant. Right now it was Lis´ turn to have her food judged. And by the looks of it, she had one certain judge in the bag.

"I LOVE STRAWBERRIES! AND... THIS... THIS... AAAAH... AMAAAAZIN´"he yelled, obviously in seventh heaven, jumping up and down in his chair.

"WILL YOU STOP YELLING?!"roared Wiseman, but Miles took no note of it and proceeded to wolf down the thick pink substance from his bowl.

"I have to admit, Lis... this is one fine piece of work. The taste is simply amazing... just what do you call this... this tasty dish?"asked Rodney in bright curiosity.

Lis smiled at the three of them.

"Its my _Strawberry Fruit Surprise_."she announced and Miles gave another whoop of happiness.

Rodney seemed to think upon this and then laughed.

"I can definitely taste other fruit in there besides the strawberry... but I guess that is the surprise. Brilliant work, Ms Milo."

Lis smiled happily at the praise.

"Brilliant doesn´t even cover it, Rod... Yo, Wisey... what d´you think?"asked an overjoyed and happy Miles.

Wiseman however was pulling himself away from his portion.

"I... I don´t like strawberries... I´m not sure I can..."

Before he could even finish his sentance, Miles placed a spoonfull of the pink strawberry surprise into his mouth. Wiseman got up angrily to retort, but in an instant he froze on the spot.

"... hey... this... this IS pretty good."he said quietly, a surprised look on his face.

"See? What´d I tell ´ya?"exclaimed Miles happily, clapping him on the shoulder as Wiseman pulled his bowl towards himself.

Chichi couldn´t help but snicker.

"Seems our Mystery girl is still in the game after this. Maybe she´ll even be crowned Miss Beauvillage."he noted to his big sis quietly.

Lola mulled it over.

"She mentioned something about only wishing to participate... but if she wins..."

"The mask will have to go off..."finished Chichi knowingly.

"And that might cause trouble with the press."nodded Lola, not even surprised that her brother was already thinking among the same lines.

"Well... she can always forfeit... but how is she gonna get Miles then... I mean this is the last round before the finals and judging by the looks on the judge´s faces, she passed."

Lola took a deep sigh.

"Looks like this is a matter that will have to be solved in the Hidehole."

Chichi nodded.

"Over our special supper."

Lola fixed him with a surprised look.

"I´ve had some of the food saved and Miles is gonna bring it to the Hidehole, so that the two of us can sample it too."he explained with a small smile.

Lola placed her arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer to her.

"You´re a real genius, you know that...?"

"Say no more, sis... say no more."said Chichi with a small chuckle, cuddling closer to her as they watched Lis walk off and another one of the contestants was called.

Both of them instantly scrowled as Cherie made her way towards the judge table with three plates in her hands. As she moved, her eyes found Steve and she flashed him a wink, making him blush.

"Well, Cherie... what have you prepared for us."asked Rodney as she placed the plates on the table.

"Smells delicious..."noted Miles, sniffing the air.

"I agree."nodded Wiseman.

Cherie smiled proudly.

"Its kind of a new recipe of mine. I call it _Emperor Style Chicken Treat_."

The three judges looked at eachother in surprise befor taking first bites of their food.

"I didn´t know, that Cherie could cook."whispered Chichi to Lola.

"Neighter did I..."Lola whispered back, genuilly astonished.

The three judges were slowly chewing on their portions, addieng piece after piece into their mouths, savoring the tasty food.

"Very good... this tastes amazing..."said Rodney softly.

"Agreed... positively incredible..."nodded Wiseman.

Miles looked at Cherie, flashed her a boyish grin and a thumbs-up.

"Perfect food... Emperor Miles is most pleased..."he said before starting to wolf down the entire plate.

Cherie beamed, inwardly jumping around in pure joy. She suceeded... by the looks of it, she had her passing guaranteed... and without cheating... Steve was right... the recipe they constructed together during his lessons really paid off...

She swiftly looked at the crew table and surveyed Steve with undying affection and gratitude, even as Steve sported a proud look as his younger cousin Phil commented the very same dish, the judges were still eating..

...

Half an hour later, as soon as almost everyone was rubbing their bellies happily, the three judges conveyed for a meeting to discuss their views and make results. However, as all of the crew noticed , they seemed to be taking a very long time... and they were apparently in feverent discussion.

"What do we do now?"asked Rodney with concern.

"Well... its bad all right... apparently the girls did such a good job and are determined..."nodded Wiseman.

"We just can´t fail them, guys... we just can´t... I mean... we can´t fail ALL of them... OOOOH"Miles exclaimed in frustration as he slamed his head on the table numerous times.

"What´s going on?"asked a voice, that drew them from their thinking.

All three of them looked up to see the Tofu siblings standing before them.

"Can´t you two see, that we´re in the middle of our judge duty?!"asked Wiseman miserably, shuffling his papers.

"Wait, Fred... maybe you two can help us a bit."said Rodney mulling it over.

"You can´t be serious, Rodney... What help can _they_ be?!"

Both Chichi and Lola glared Wiseman, though he took o notice of it.

"MY SAVIOURS!"exclaimed Miles.

In one swift motion, he jumped over the table and swiftly hugged Chichi and Lola to himself.

"Guys... we have a super, ultra, mega, hyper and turbo-extra problem... you are our saving grace... our ultimate solution... guys..."he started animatedly as he steered the two of them closer to the table.

"The problem is... the girls did soooooo well... we can´t even decide who´s cooking is better... what do we do...?"asked Miles, sounding kinda like a lost little boy asking advice from his teacher.

Lola couldn´t help but giggle.

"You´re pretty desperate aren´t you...?"she asked mischievously, wiggling her eyebrows at Wiseman and Rodney, her head still under Miles´ arm.

Wiseman folded his arms, turned his head the other way and "humphed". Rodney on the other hand, shot a puppy-eyed look at Lola.

"Yes... I have to admit, that your most favourite professor in the world is hopelessly lost and unable to decide... Lola... could you help your poor dear professor?"

Rodney´s playfull tone of voice and the acting plea threw Lola into a fit of giggles – her sympathies towards her homeroom professor shining in all of their glory – she knew she liked the guy for a reason.

"Well... let´s see your notes so far..."said Chichi smilingly.

And so, they went over the notes, discussing the views of all the judges for more than ten minutes with everyone looking over at them. Lola and Chichi were now happy, that they haven´t sampled any of the cooked food – this made them the perfect objective pair to help. Rodney looked at the two siblings in pure wonder as he watched them work together, looking over the notes, asking both Miles and Wiseman - who was very reluctant to answer any question at all, laughing, joking with eachother, but still moving on to a solution.

"_The rumors __**are**__ true then... these two, are really a powerfull team._"he thought, happy to finally witness this, making an honest and true opinion of the Tofu siblings.

He also unwillingly started to apply his observation skills. Upon what he was seeing, his affections towards the Beauvillage´s Greenest family´s siblings increased tenfold.

"Okay... here´s a suggestion... each of you three write down the food you liked the most."said Chichi, handing papers along the table.

After the food was written down, Chichi scanned the results along with his sister.

"Well... your suggestion cut down the girls to a half, but the ammount of girls nominated for passing is still ten... and only five can pass."noted Lola as she looked over the improved notes.

"Damn, its really hard to decide with these girls..."muttered Wiseman, scratching his head nervously, his eyes darting to the contestants, who were grouped in one corner of the room – a small blush colored his cheeks as he remembered, that somewhere among those girls, was his secret admirer.

Chichi once more scanned the papers, then closed his eyes and took a moment to compose his thoughts. Lola and Miles smiled at eachother knowingly, while Rodney and Wiseman were looking curious. After a moment, Chichi opened his eyes and his infamous grin was in place – as well as a brilliant plan in his head.

"Let´s get Trashbin here... I´m sure he´ll love this idea..."he said.

"WAAAHOOOO! I knew I could count on you, genius-boy."Miles exclaimed, grabbing Chichi in a headlock and ruffling his hair happily.

"I´ll get Trashbin right away."he said, setting out.

"But you don´t know where he is."called Wiseman after him.

Miles turned his head back and let out a mischievous snicker.

"Sure I do, Wisey... he´s in the ladies-room."he said with a wink before dashing trough the room like wind.

...

"The time has come, ladies, gentlemen and of course, our dear contestants..."announced Angie after the applause died down.

"Our judges have reached their decidion and its time to find out, who stays and who goes."nodded Lola – her statement making some of the contestants fret over the outcome even more.

The three judges stepped forward and the crowd applaused.

"Gotta hand it to you, Chichi... that was one brilliant idea."whispered Trashbin to Chichi as they observed.

Chichi smiled, but still snickered at the sight Trashbin made. His clothes were dishivelled and he still had lipstick marks all over his face.

"No problem, Trashbin... it´ll be more fun this way."he said as he looked on at Miles showing off to the crowd.

"And by the way, Trashbin..."he added with a mischievous smirk.

"Your fly is still undone."

Trashbin gasped, and hurriedly zipped up his pants before turning to Chichi, blushing and scratching his head sheepishly.

"Yeah well... the girls were... well... oh... I love it when they´re so friendly..."

Chichi snickered again just as Miles took the microphone.

"Well ladies... me and my collagues reached our decidion. Boooooy, your cooking was out of this world, I think each of you have what it takes to cook in this very restaurant."

The statement rose giant applause from the crowd, blushing gasps from the contestants and a horrified one from Monsieur Michell.

"Well this was supposed to be the breaking round, where only five would pass into the finals. However since you all did sooooo good... we´ve decided that TEN of you should pass."

Almost everyone gasped in surprise. However Rodney took the microphone from Miles.

"Of course, the finals can´t be held with such a high number, which was our dillema. Luckily it was solved by our own boy-genius, who had an engenius idea."

Chichi blushed at hearing that and was happy that he was hidden in the back with Trashbin.

"Since the finals need five contestants and no more, we will stage one more bonus round, where each of you will get a chance to advance. It will also be a chance for everyone to have more fun with this – you see... this one will truly be a blast."finished Rodney happily and the room was filled with excitement at the promise as Wiseman took the microphone.

"We will now read the girls, who made it trough this round..."he said in a business-like voice.

"So let´s see... 10 eggs, milk, honey, bread, chocolate..."he read out loud before gasping just as Miles, Chichi, Lola and several others exploded in laughter.

"Dude... that´s your grossery-list..."Miles exclimed, clapping his knee in hilarious laughter.

Red as a tomato, Wiseman quickly searched his pockets and finally managed to pull out the right paper. As he cleared his throat to read out the girls, he scanned them troughoutly.

"_I know that you´re there somewhere... and I´ll find you... for sure..._"he thought, thinking of the mystery girl, who sent him all those love letters.

...

**A/N: **Ooookay... a long one... This one took me nearly three weeks... I have to apologize, but a lot has been going on and well... some of it inspired me into these scenes... looks like love is really in the air in Beauvillage. Heh my pride couple is Nick and Mia - Mia is really fun to write... I really enjoy these two. But it looks like our Cherie is also experiencing something new... In any case, I´ll try to make the next chapter as soon as possible... and I already plan on a little twist so stick around for the bonus round of Miss Beauvillage – Its bound to be full of surprises...

HK07


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"_The surprise event of this year – Beauvillage´s Miss contest has once again drawn the country´s population to their television sets. And once again no one was dissapointed. The third round had once more shown the qualities of the young competing ladies of this peculiar yet amazing contest. Also the judges have also once more shown us just why are these lovely ladies competing for their hearts so feverishly. Beauvillage´s two Men with Hearts of Gold have made most people laugh hystericly at their seemingly neverending antics. Another refreshing wave of humorous antics came from the guests – Monsieur Michell Saveur, Mrs Beth Hubbub and Mrs Violet Tofu. However in the end we were all surprised by the announcement of another – a bonus round, where the remaining ten girls will compete in a few days. The details of the round are still unclear. When asked, the organizing pair – Mr Martin Skylark and Beauvillage´s mayor Johnatan Haveitall have said, that the round´s objectives are to be a secret. However the judges enlightened us, that it will be an amazing round indeed._

"_Don´t you sweet people worry. It´ll be a blast for sure. Our genius-boy is on the job."revealed Michael Miles._

_The refered boy-genius – a boy from Beauvillage named Chichi Tofu – the younger brother of one of the show´s narrators – Lola Tofu, has however refused to reveal what his desighn for the bonus round will be. _

"_Me and my crew will be working on it in the next few days."said the bright boy, who is responsible for the supporting work for the contest and very much appretiated by both Mr Skylark and Mayor Haveitall. _

_However he declined to announce any other piece of information. Mayor Haveitall noted, that the bright boy is very secretive as well as capable and that he has his full confidence. Also our sources inform us, that the boy was rarely seen in the last two days aside from school. As we tried asking at the Tofu household, but we came up empty-handed. Mr Jacob Tofu remarked, that his son and his friends are off working on the equipment for the round, but couldn´t tell us where. Also absent was Lola Tofu who was reported to be spending time with her best friend Lily Robins – the author of the new bestseller book The Great Mystery. It seems that Beauvillage certainly has its generous share of talented youngsters, who´s talents are now coming out for all to see. On that note it was also promised by another of the judges – Detective Frederick Wiseman, that the rumors of cheating on the contest are looked into by another three talented youngsters – his aids, members of the crime-solving Brotherhood of the Wise. He also affirmed, that the Brotherhood is doing everything in its power to make sure no foul-play would come to pass over the course of the rounds._

_Now that only ten contesting girls remain, the contest is bound to get more heated and everyone is looking forward to seeing what happens next and most importaintly – who will be crowned Miss Beauvillage. More information about the contestants will be issued in tommorow´s special edition dedicated to this fabulous contest. It can also be found on the Beauvillage´s web-site and another web-site dedicated to this contest will be made available as of tommorow._"

"_C´est impossible_!"exclaimed Mayor Jean La Jolie, banging his fist on his neatly cleaned work table as his son Jaq finished reading the front-page article of the _National Times_ newspaper.

Sitting in the comfortable couch of his father´s grandious office Jaq put the newspaper down, scrowling just like his father in pure disgust.

"This is even worse than we thought. I cannot believe that they are doing so well... dispite the mediocre judges, settings and... everything else. Humph... people actually like this... this... _ordures_?!"

Nodding in agreement to his son´s statement, Jean La Jolie stood up from his chair and started to pace around the office.

The Cygnuville mayor´s office was about three times larger, than that of his Beauvillage collague. In fact to some who had the privilege of visiting it, the office seemed like a miniature museum. It was stocked full of the finest art, the town had – numerous paintings, sculptures, amazingly woven rugs, beautyfull statuettes and many other pieces of art – some of which dating back to the founding days of Cygnuville, the pieces being brought in by the original settlers. Every single piece was being taken care of very carefully and very expensively – something the Cygnuvillan mayors never failed to neglect, no matter what it cost. Jean La Jolie never failed to take great pride in being the "keeper of this amazing treasure". However now, he did not acknowledge any of it. Instead his sights were fixed on the ground as he was deep in thought.

"Something HAS to be done, Jaq... Haveitall somehow manages to get past every addition or rule I make to our bet. If we don´t do something fast, he´ll win the bet and... I... I´ll have to... for an entire _day_... WORK! As a mere _SERVITEUR_!"

Jaq stood up in a single swift move, his face fierce.

"_JAMAIS!_ That would be the height of shame to the family name! We must protect the honor of the family!"he exclaimed, his fists punching the air for emphasis.

Patting him on the shoulder as he passed, Jean moved past him, behind his desk and towards the large window which overlooked Cygnuville´s main square.

For a small moment he looked upon the wonderous square – the National Grand Theatre, the amazing fountain in the middle of the square, importaint buildings placed neatly and orderly – all of which a masterpiece of sorts.

"It is not just the family honor we have to protect, _mon fils_..."he said beckoning Jaq to his side.

Obediently following his father´s request, the youth took his place at his father´s right side. Jeand placed his right arm around his shoulders while gesturing broadly at the view with the other.

"Look... this is our Cygnuville – the country´s oasis of good art and fine taste among a desert of foolish, ignorant and stupid _dullards_. We must protect its prestiege and reputation at all costs. We can NOT let some small insignificant town tarnish its precious name."he said dramaticly.

Jaq nodded smilingly and placed his right palm over his heart and closed his eyes.

"_Le cygne qui brille aux yeux de tous ... Le cygne appelé Cygnuville._"

Jean´s heart was swelling with utter pride as his son cited the age-old motto of their hometown. The town his ancestors lived in for the last two hundred years since its founding days. The town, where generations of the La Jolie family reigned as its mayor. A small moment of silence passed, then a confident smirk appeared on Jaq´s face.

"Have no fear, _papa_... I know _exactement_ what to do."

Jean raised an eyebrow in question even as his son reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell-phone.

"I have read the few articles about this _concours_. There were a few _intéressant_ rumors there... and I think its time, that they become a painfull reality. I will leave for Beauvillage tommorow in the morning. But I won´t go alone... its time to call my trusty _fonctionnaires_."he said, smirking deviously as he dialed the familiar number.

The devious smirk was mirrored on the face of the elder La Jolie, for he now knew full-well whom it is, his son is calling. The pair, that Jaq aqquainted in his very first grade of Elementary school. The pair, that most of the town´s young ones fear for more reasons than one. The pair, whom his son enlisted into his ranks knowing how usefull they would be.

"The Robuste siblings – The Two Ton Twins."

...

"Aaaaand... three... two... one... HERE WE GO!"exclaimed an overjoyed male voice before the flashes of a photo-camera illuminated the large party-room of Beauvillage´s Splashland.

The large room was situated above Splashland´s swiming pools and often served as a place, where some of the social events of the town were held, including many events dedicated for the teenage population – even if those events were very rare. This made the place very desirable for nearly every teenager of Beauvillage. The room was grand, held many tables, a small stage and a large bar-table. It was decorated loosely by pictures and paintings of famous stars or movie legends. Also many plants and a small fountain were present to liven up the room. Splashland itself was town property and one of Mayor Haveitall´s contributions to Beauvillage – something Beauvillagers, young and old greatly appretiated. It also gave rise to Beauvillage´s swimming and water-polo team – both of which are doing quite well thanks to the training in great conditions – something which greatly pleases Mayor Haveitall.

Today however Splashland is playing host to an entirely different event.

The NATMA board of directors have decided, that after round three it was ideal time for more publicity. Mayor Haveitall was extremly overjoyed about this prospect and Trashbin was appointed to take charge of the publicity operation. Since 7am, Splashland hosted reporters from almost every media group of the nation, all of which were very interested in finding out as much as they possibly could. So since early morning, the contestants, the narrators and the judges were interviewed a few fimes. That meant that all of them, the day being Friday, were given time-off from their duties – school duties and in the case of judges Philips and Wiseman – teaching and police duties. However the media were greatly interested in also interviewing the members of the Brotherhood and Beauvillage´s genius boy. The four of whom were very surprised, when Mayor Haveitall payed them an unannounced visit yesterday during Mrs Starchy´s class. Both Nick and Chichi didn´t really want to attend the interviews, but the mayor had reminded them that it was their duty. Chichi instantly took up the oppoturnity to secure attendance not just for him, but also the other members of the crew – a gesture mimicked by Nick, who secured places for their _allies_ (even if it meant, that the girls would just be sitting there with not much to say). The mayor allowed so jovially and now most of the party-room was packed with teenagers. Upon hearing such attendance, Angie had swiftly provided refreshments from a few Beauvillage´s shops and charged it all to her father, who upon hearing this froze in complete shock.

"B...but... Angie..."he stammered in his office yesterday as he saw the bill.

"Now, Dad... you told them its their duty to attend... it is also _our_ duty to reward them for all the help and support."she responded as she and Rodney placed down a few last boxes of drinks.

"Well...yes... I suppose so..."said Mayor Haveitall meekly as he sat down into his chair.

At the small cheeky wink Angie gave him, Rodney had to do all he could not to laugh – even now as he remembered yesterday´s exchange in the office.

Fixing his sights on the two groups of teenagers – the Brotherhood with their girls and Wiseman on one side and Chichi, his crew, Lola and Miles on the other – both groups relaxing from the interviews.

"Phew... finally the interviews are over."said a voice behind him, one that brought a smile to his lips.

Turning, he saw Angie walking towards him as her father immediatly turned to the bar for some refreshments.

"I agree... they were a bit tiring."Rodney nodded as Angie came to a halt besides him.

"But still... its very good publicity."she nodded before her face took on a devious smirk.

"THAT should put ol´ La Jolie in his place."

Rodney couldn´t help but chuckle a bit as the pair made their way towards Chichi´s group.

"Yes... but I have to admit, you organized most of this Spalshland interview event quite nicely, Angie. You really grew up to be a highly capable Deputy-mayor."

Angie fixed him a radiant smile.

"Weeeell... its not like _you_ had nothing to do with it, _Professor_."she said sweetly.

Rodney´s face was immediatly crimson.

"I have no idea what you´re talking about..."he said evasively, but inwardly wrestling with a very fuzzy feeling – the temptation was becoming harder and harder to resist by the day.

Angie fixed him a cheeky "Yeah, right" look (which only intensified Rodney´s inward struggle) and instantly fixed her sights on the teenage group as they came to a halt by them.

"Hey guys..."she greeted the group.

Unsurprisingly Billy, Lola and Miles flashed her happy smiles, the rest waved in acknowledgement, but their sights remained glued to Phil in the middle of the table. Phil was typing something on to the screen of his new tablet with a small black tablet-pencil. The sight at once stirred Rodney´s interest.

"What´s that you´re doing there, Phil?"he asked curiously as he moved closer.

Phil grinned at him and turned the tablet, so that he could see the screen.

"The brand new Miss Beauvillage website. It should be up by evening. Just as soon as..."

Suddenly another flash illuminated the room and a wail of happiness rang across the room.

"MAAARVELOUS! AND AGAIN...!"boomed the voice, before another flash came up.

Martin "Trashbin" Skylark was jumping up and around, photocamera in hand and fully enjoying the task of taking photos of the contesting girls in many different and impressive poses. Miles let out a snickering laugh.

"Heh... Trashbin´s in his element."he snickered, with Chichi, Phil and Billy following him in chuckles and snickers.

"Guess its true what they say about him... he _really_ loves the opposite sex."snickered Chichi, earning himself a cold glare from his big sis.

"You got it, Chich. Well... never up to the point of being disrespectfull or anything, but he worked himself up to a real Casanova in his teen days... heh... hell, we used to call him _Casanova junior_..."explained Miles.

Lola and Angie exchanged an eyeroll as the boys at the table chuckled. However as they looked at Trashbin, the girls seemed to be very flattered by his bright interest – many taking up poses happily as he photographed them.

"Perfect, Tammy dearest... and another one... _perfect_... the camera loves you, girl... so do the boys by the way, so gimme a bright and happy smile..."Trashbin boomed as he snapped away, Tammy Hoodwood happily changing poses from one to the other looking very comfortable and relaxed.

Lola sighed, but shook her head with a smile.

"Well... he _does_ have his way with girls, that´s for sure..."

"Anyways... the photos will go up for the website. Plus the newspaper´s special _Miss Beauvillage_ Edition."explained Chichi as he returned his sights on Phil´s tablet.

Angie fixed them all an affectionate smile.

"If it hadn´t been for you guys... this entire contest would be next to impossible."

Chichi flashed her his infamous grin.

"Think nothing of it, Angie... besides... we´re having waaay too much fun with this project."he said, as he reached for the lemon-beer one of the waiters brought for him.

"Not to mention all the free-time from school we´re getting."added Billy, smirking at his girlfriend´s little brother.

Chichi flashed him a cheeky look.

"_Business_."

As the table erupted in happy laughter, Nick scrowled at them.

"Look at ´em... laughing stupidly not even concerned about the mysteries around here."he said in disgust.

"What are you talking about, brother?"asked Tex confusedly.

"The sabotage of the second round!"he responded, turning on his so fiercely, he cringed.

"And the first."added Wiseman nodding.

"But that wan´t..."started Archie, but he instantly stopped as Mia elbowed him into the stomach under the table.

"_Quiet! We WEREN´T there...!_"she growled so silently, that even Emily who sat at his other side didn´t hear it.

"But... but there was no sabotage during last round..."said Emily analyticly.

"My point´s exactly. Something´s wierd here and I don´t like it."growled Nick, folding his arms.

Wiseman gave an aprooving nod.

"That´s our brother Nick for you... an ace detective if I ever saw one."he said, clapping Nick on his shoulder.

Mia, who sat on his other side snorted in laughter.

"Got a problem with that, blondie?!"growled Nick rounding on her.

"Wouldn´t have... it if were a _fact_ not fiction."responded Mia smirkingly, folding her arms.

"Why you..."started Nick, but Wiseman stopped him.

"That´s enough you two... I have... a small confession to make."

Nick, Mia, Archie, Emily, Tex and Abbygail fixed him with a surprised stare, but Wiseman took no notice of it.

"Seeing as you two chose to follow our brother Archie´s example and find an _ally_..."

The six teenagers were instantly red in the face. Archie fixed Emily a lovesick smile and she giggled giddingly. Tex seemed to be frozen on the spot and his normally pale face was blood-red. Abbygail swiftly turned away from him red-cheeked and determined NOT to look anywhere near him. Nick and Mia exchanged an open-mouthed look at eachother – their blush intensifying and at once both rounded on Wiseman.

"YOU GOTTA BE **INSANE**!"

"**NEVER**, BROTHER FRED!"

Wiseman however took no note of this and fixed his sight on the girls, who were photographed by Trashbin.

"You see, my friends... there is one more mystery to be solved here... one that I chose not to inform you about..."

"This secret admirer you have, right?"

At Archie´s question, Wiseman snapped his head towards him swiftly.

"H... how o you know?"he asked, his cheeks reddening – he was sure, that no one had known about the love letters.

Archie snickered at that.

"Easy, brother Fred... we took a peek at the letters you´ve been getting and investigated into it. We al..."

Suddenly Archie´s responce was cut off by Nick, who reached over Wiseman and clapped a hand to Archie´s mouth, but too late.

"Y...you... looked into it? Without my knowing?"asked Wiseman quietly geniually shocked.

"We didn´t do it on purpose, brother... we just saw the letters and decided to look into it..."said Tex apologeticly, hoping to straighten things out.

"Yeah. We wanted to find out who the admirer is."nodded Nick fiercely.

"So that we could find out if this girl is worthy of our brother Fred."said Archie once he succeeded in removing Nick´s hand from his mouth.

Wiseman sat there in silence for a few moments, during which noboy dared move a muscle, wonering how would Frederick Wiseman take this bit of news.

"MY BROTHERS!"exclaimed Wiseman, at once embracing Nick and Archie with one hand and reaching for Tex with the other.

"You... you were concerned about me..."he whispered in an obviously moved voice.

"Of course, brother... we look out for eachother, remember?"Archie piped up happily in the embrace, the comment only making Wiseman grip them tighter.

"We want you to be happy, brother Fred."nodded Tex earnestly.

"Plus it could´ve been a ploy... and we can´t allow that to happen."added Nick with a small sneer at the prospect.

Wiseman wailed in obvious happiness and his grip tightened once more.

"You are the greatest friends I _ever_ had!"he exclaimed.

The girls watched the exchange. Emily and Abbygail shared a happy giggle, while Mia sighed deeply, whispering "_Oh, brother..._" under her breath, nevertheless even she sported a small smile.

Once the embrace was broken, Wiseman took a small breath and looked at the trio with a look of gratitude, before his expression turned serious.

"And who well did you fare? Have you found out who our _culprit_... I mean _girl_ is?"

Archie and Tex exchanged sad looks. Nick however "humphed" furiously and folded his arms.

"Well... no, brother Fred..."admitted Tex shamefully.

"We tried, brother Fred... honest... but we couldn´t find out who she is."said Archie imploringly.

"But we are very close to finding out."said Nick in a strong voice, fixing his sight on the contestants.

This comment drew shock from nearly everyone at the table. Except Mia, who gave out a soft snort of disbelief.

"Judging from all the evidence... the culprit has to be... among those 10 girls."said Nick, his eyes narrowing at the girls.

Abbygail and Emily shared a confused look, while Mia smacked her forehead. The brothers however looked at eachother impressed.

"Ingenius, brother Nick... it seems, that great minds think alike. With all four of us on the job, I´m confident we can solve this mystery and find my secret ally."boomed Wiseman happily.

"You got it, brother Fred! We´ll get to the bottom of this..."nodded Tex happily, holding out his arm into the middle of the table.

"There´s no mystery the Brotherhood of the Wise can´t solve."said Nick fiercely, placing his hand on top of Tex´s.

"You´ll help too, won´t you Emmy?"asked Archie as he placed his hand too.

Emily thought about it for a moment, but with the puppy-eyed look he was giving her she just couldn´t say no.

"Of course, teddy-bear... its for a good cause afterall."said Emily with a sweet smile at her boyfriend and placed her hand too.

Abbygail smiled as well and placed her hand too while shooting a smile at Tex. All of them, Nick in the lead turned towards Mia.

"What about you, blondie?"asked Nick, his eyes looking at her face.

Mia raised an eyebrow, her arms still folded. She really seemed to be thinking it over.

"Well okay... just this once. As long as you don´t do anything stupid."

Wiseman wailed happily.

"Marvelous! I knew I can count on you."he said as he added his hand on theirs.

Together they made a unified gesture before separating their hands.

"All right... first thing we do... gather all the information we can trough observation. We have to..."started Wiseman as the entire table looked at the girls, but a loud voice cut him off.

"YO, WIIIIISEEEEEEEEY!"

The entire table jumped and turned to see Michael Miles standing next to them.

"If you guys are done making plans come on down. Now that all the work is over, let´s all take a dip in the pool."said Miles grinning at them and pointing to the main door of the room with his thumb.

They all stared at eachother, remembering now just _why_ they all bothered to bring their swimming suits along.

...

As evening came to Beauvillage, many adults and teens alike went down to town to enjoy themselfs a bit before weekend as it was the tradition. Well for most years it was purely the tradition of the adults, since the teenagers had a rare few places to go. That however changed over two years ago with the arrival of Mr Evergreen. A kind and "hip" man, about Mom Tofu´s age, he was very fun to be around, but just wasn´t meant to be a businessman. Having taken over a large old space he inherited, he was unsure what to use it for. Becoming fast friends with Pop, Mom, Beth and Titus, the place underwent many changes since everyone wanted the place to serve a different purpose – the "adults" squabbled yet again, while Mr Workalot also had his eyes on the location and nearly succeded in aquiring it, if not for the party the teens threw at the place – the idea of only Chichi´s class attending getting out of hand and turning into a massive turnout, just as Workalot, Mayor Haveitall and the other adults came to see what all the racket was about. And so Beauvillage´s first and only teen club was opened, with the help of many teens including Chichi and the gang. Only Chichi made a small goof when he made the sighn for the club. His electric sighn misspelled one single syllable and Club-_house_ became known all over Beauvillage as Club-_horse_, before Chichi had the time to repair it. Nevertheless for nearly two years Club-horse is almost always crammed full on every Friday evening. And today was no exception. The tables were full, many groups chatting happily among eachother, Mr Evergreen serving at the bar-table, music playing, laughter and also... lots of smoochin´ among teenage lovebirds. However a large group of girls were seated among some of the contesting girls, who wasted no time in telling them about their day in Splashland.

"... and the boys ended their "Coolest Jump" contest with Miles jumping a sommersault straight into the pool."said Tammy Hoodwood as some of the other teens looked at awe.

"He must be very athletic."commented Zoe, before she took a small sip from her milkshake.

"You´ve said it..."nodded Irene before giving out a lovesick sigh.

"He´s _sooooo_ amazing... I really hope I win the contest, so I can become his girlfriend."

Several girls at the table gave her a dark glare.

"Well, we´ll have to see after the bonus round."said Tammy shrugging.

The very mention of the bonus round prompted a very excited chatter among the other girls.

"Have you found out what´ll it be about?"asked Florence, her curiosity mimicked by many others.

"Yes, the judges informed us about it before we went to the pool."nodded Irene happily.

"But... its supposed to be a secret. We swore we won´t tell anyone."said Tammy in a matter-of fact voice.

At once the entire table gave a dissapointed "awww" and tried their best to persuade the girls to reveal the secret – unsuccessfully. Suddenly their attention was directed to the door as the familiar brotherhood trio entered. However Nick was wearing a deep-green sky-mask on his head. Tammy and Irene at once exploded in giggles.

"Are we missing something here?"asked Mary confusedly.

Still giggling, the two girs told them of what happened at the pool. The brotherhood was very diligent in their new investigation. Nick and Mia took up the post in the rear of the pool, Archie and Emily on the other side and Abbygail stuck with Tex, who kept his feet in the water as he wrote down the numerous observations with Wiseman. However Wiseman wasn´t very able to glimpse much, because Miles took him by the arm and jumped into the water with him following the "Coolest Jump" contest. Wiseman was furious about it and spent a good half-an-hour chasing Miles in the water – much to the amusement of the others there. However when Nick and Mia had their argument – Mia saw the observations as "perving" and Nick retaliated with an obvious observation about Candy having _something_ her younger sister was clearly lacking. That was when Mia slapped him across the face so hard, that he fell into the pool. However as he made his way back up to her, it became plain for all to see, that he left something swimming in the pool. He hurriedly jumped back into the pool, but it was waaay too late. Splashland´s roof almost flew up as Mia´s hysterical scream mixed in with everyone else´s hilarious laughter at the sight of Nick´s naked backside.

"OH, JUST DROP IT ALREADY!"

The attention of the giggling girls was once more diverted as a red-faced and furious Mia came trough the front door along with Candy. Candy by contrast was looking like she couldn´t possibly be happier.

"You don´t have to deny it, you lucky thing. We only saw **the back**, but _you_..."

Mia´s face was almost glowing in red color. She couldn´t deny, that she saw much more than the others, since Nick climbed out _directly_ in front of her.

"Sh- SHUT UP! I COULD´VE DONE PERFECTLY WELL WITHOUT SEEING _**THAT**_!"

The girls at once erupted into giggles as Mia and Candy came to the table.

"You should be happy, Mia... do you know how many girls would love to see their boyfriend naked?"asked Candy, her cheeks reddening at the prospect and some of the girls at the table nodding with sickly sweet smiles.

Mia flared once again.

"First up – I DON´T care! Second – he´s NOT my boyfriend! And third – I´m NOT a stupid hormone-head like you! If you like it so much, go find a boyfriend yourself and stare at his... _thing_ all day for all I care!"she yelled, slamming her fist into the table – the entire club now listening to the conversation even as the table once more erupted into girlish giggles.

On the other side of the club, Nick hid himself under the table that he and his brothers were occupying.

"They´re talking about you, brother Nick."noted Archie, while gazing at the table occupied by the girls.

Following that embaressing moment, Nick literraly ran into the changing rooms with a blood-red face and the sick sound of laughter in his ears. He was fairly certain, that he won´t be able to forget this for a **very** long time. Wiseman had tried to solve the matter of embaressment, by giving him a police sky-mask often used by special forces. But by the looks of it, it won´t be of much use. Since Mia´s overjoyed sister have taken up to re-telling the story to everyone who listened. Which meant that thistime tommorow, the entire town will know the tale.

"Come on, Mia... share with us a bit."prompted Zoe with a pervy smirk.

"What?!"exclaimed Mia, her face and nerves once more reaching red points as the girls came closer to her – curiosity evident in their eyes.

"Yeah... is he a... _big boy_?"asked Tammy, her eyebrows wiggling.

The entire club shook as Mia pounded the table with her fist with all the strength she could muster.

"SHUT UP! IF ANYONE ELSE ASKS ME ABOUT THAT AGAIN, I´LL PUNCH THEIR FACE IN! GOT THAT?!"

"A bit loud in here, isn´t it."noted a new arrival.

A tall, shaggy blonde-haired boy viewed the club over his big black-rimmed glasses. Dressed in simple jeans and a red t-shirt. Behind him stood two even taller and well-built boys. Their faces were identical and even their red hair was the same length. Their shirts were sleeveless and showed their big muscles.

"What do we do now, _patron_?"asked one of them.

"Nothing for now. Just mingle and find out as much as we can. And _don´t_ speak french... it might give us away."said the blonde-haired boy in a quiet vioce.

"_Oui oui, patron._"replied the other one.

Rolling his eyes the boy made his way towards the bar. Looking around himself, he smirked slightly – no one would recodnize him in his disguise.

"_All those hours in the Drama club have paid off._"thought Jaq La Jolie smirkingly, proud of his acting skills – he didn´t wish to leave anything to chance, he had a mission afterall.

Once getting their drinks, they made their way towards an empty table on the corner of the club, where the brotherhood was sitting. Once seated, his sights settled behind them to the other tables in order to make sure that they can overhear a few conversations. Suddenly someone tripped near them and fell to the floor. The two muscular boys tensed prepared for a fight, but upon a small hand signal from Jaq they remained seated even as Jaq turned to the bispectaled light-red haired boy who fell near their table.

"Sorry about that."he apologized as he tried to pick up his order on the tray.

"Its okay."said Jaq smilingly as he bent over to help, instantly recodnizing the boy as one of the teens he met during the National Outdoor Sales Day – one of the teens he knew was part of the contest crew.

"You´re not from here, are you? I don´t remember seeing you around here."asked the bispectaled boy brightly, as he finished picking everything up.

"No... I am just visiting. Along with my friends."said Jaq convincingly gesturing to the two.

"Oh... well I hope you enjoy your visit. I´m Steve, by the way."said the boy offering his hand.

Smilingly Jaq took it, inwardly congratulating himself on his good acting.

"My name is... Jack."he said as he shook hands.

"So I hear that the Miss Beauvillage contest should be on this Sunday. The bonus round I mean..."said Jaq, wanting to start up a conversation so he could find out more about the round.

"Oh yeah... it´ll be on... if you´re in Beauvillage till then, you´ll see it live."

At Steve´s responce, Jaq inwardly smirked.

"Oh... where will the round be held?"he asked.

Steve scratched his head a bit.

"Well I can´t say for now... it´ll be announced at Town Hall on Sunday morning."

Jaq almost scrowled in dissapointment, but he held his composure. He was about to press him a bit harder for information but before he could do so, someone called out Steve´s name. Steve´s face at once sported a delighted smile.

"Sorry, Jack... the lady is waiting for the order so I´ll talk to you later."he said and hurried away towards a table not too far behind them in the far corner of the room.

Jaq looked on as Steve sat besides a black-haired girl he recodnized as one of the contestants.

"Sorry for the wait, Cherie."said Steve as they helped themselfs to the snacks he brought along with the drinks.

"That´s okay, Stevie. I´m glad that you invited me out. I really didn´t want to hang out with the girls today."she said.

It was true. For some mysterious reason, when Steve asked her about coming here she felt compelled in doing so. Thinking about it, she really enjoyed Steve´s company lately. Eversince the cooking lessons in fact. Since then she always got a very warm and pleasant feeling when being around Steve. It mystified her, but the feeling was something so nice, that she suspected could be addictive. It just felt out of this world, having his support and attention. Like after the cooking round as he gave her a look of utmost pride, or even today at the pool as she chaught him staring at her in her new swimsuit. She gave a small giggle when she remembered his blood-red face as she flashed him a mischievous wink and posed a bit for him, troughoutly enjoying his blushing reaction.

"So... Cherie... what do you think about the bonus round?"asked Steve quietly, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Well... I have to admit, that it sounds...fun. I really have to say it for the _eco-brat_. He really thought of a cool thing thistime."

Her reply made a frown appear on his face.

"_Please_ don´t call him that, Cherie. Chichi is actually very resourcefull and fun to be around. And I really wish you´d stop doing _that_ too..."he added imploringly as she pulled out her cigarettes.

"Oh come on, Stevie. One isn´t going to hurt."she said rolling her eyes.

Steve sighed a bit as she lit up her cigarette and took a small puff.

"But I have to say, Stevie... you were right about the cheating. I really don´t need to cheat. I mean... I got this far and the contest really seems to be loads of fun."

Steve´s eyes widened and a very happy look replaced the frown.

"Of course you don´t, Cherie. You´re the best girl in Beauvillage. You can win this fair and square."

Cherie´s eyes turned gentle as she heared that. She placed her soft palm on Steve´s cheek and Steve did all he could not to close his eyes in complete bliss.

"You´re right, Stevie. But its only because I have such an amazing friend on my side."

Now Steve´s cheeks picked up a shade of red. He grinned sheepishly as she withdrew her hand.

"Heh... so you´re sure you can win the Dingy-basher race without any "help"?"he asked teasingly.

Cherie giggled a bit and winked at him.

"You betcha. I´ll be the fastest paddler in the Aquapark."

Sharing a small laugh, Steve´s face once more took on a serious look.

"I´m happy for that, Cherie... the brotherhood and even Chichi are on the lookout. I don´t want you getting in trouble."he said sincirely.

Cherie smiled affectionately and shook her head.

"I told you. I´m done with cheating. I´ll fight fair and square. Promise."she said, offering up her pinky finger.

"Pinky-swear."she added happily.

Steve´s heart fluttered as he linked his pinky finger with hers. Both of them failed to notice, that a certain someone was sitting fairly close. Close enough to hear everything.

"_I know all I need to know._"thought Jaq with a devious smirk.

...

"Aaaand full-house, gentlemen."announced Mr Theodore Weatherby as he shown the cards in his hands.

"Not again, Theo... I swear you have the strangest luck."sighed Sydney Knowmuch – the principal of Beauvillage Elementary as he laid down his cards.

Smiling nischievously Weatherby pulled the stacks of chips toward himself.

"Now now... no sore losers, Principal."

Sighing deeply, Rodney Philips also set down his cards but unlike Principal Knowmuch didn´t really mind Theo winning yet again. In fact, he was finding it very dificult to focus on the game, or anything else for that matter. For almost three years it became a tradition among the three men to visit the local bar and play poker every Saturday. However thistime, due to the contest´s spirit, which had brought just about everyone in Beauvillage out tonight, they decided to also join in dispite the tradition. Rodney always enjoyed their little sessions for more reasons than one. He knew both of them for most of his life and had a very good relationship with them. In fact, Theodore Weatherby used to be _his_ homeroom teacher during his time in Beauvillage Elementary. He was the teacher he was on best terms with and who inspired him to become a teacher himself. For a moment it seemed funny how the years have passed. Rodney remembered as if yesterday those days as a carefree child. Running out of class when the bell rang, having fun with Ezekiel and Balthazar or his other friends, babysitting Angie...

Rodney cringed. There it was again. _Angie_...

He now realized and very painfully too, that he was head over heels for the said girl. No matter how many times he scolded himself for it, no matter how many times he sternly told himself to face the facts... the feeling just did NOT go away. It was holding onto him very strongly. Almost stronger than when he was dating Farrah – he knew very well what the feeling was. It seemed so stupid – he was a grown _man_ and yet this feeling was making him act like a lovesick teenager. What´s more, today´s pool adventure made him realize that Angie had grown from an adorable little girl into a mature and attractive young woman. The sight of her in her swimsuit has reduced him into a blushing, stuttering moron. He just couldn´t help but stare at her...

"Rodney!"

As though coming back from another world, he saw that his two collagues were eying him in concern.

"What´s wrong Rodney? You seem so... distant today."asked Weatherby in concern.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, he fixed them a smile that didn´t reach his eyes.

"Its nothing. Just thinking about the contest."

The two men smiled a bit.

"So... mind telling us, just _what_ has young Chichi come up with thistime?"asked Sydney grinningly.

"Not telling, gents. I´ll merely say, that his idea is very good. You must be really proud of your student, Theo."he said, happy for a change of subject.

Weatherby smiled happily.

"Oh... I am. Chichi, Phil Conners, our detective trio and also some of the others in my class... I really have to say, that I´m teaching an exceptionall group thistime."said Weatherby with a look of pride.

"I´ll drink to that."offered up Sydney and raised his glass.

The three toasted and Rodney started to shuffle the cards.

"But I always had the luck for exceptional students. One such case sits right here."said Weatherby happily.

"I´ll say. Heh... when I remember, some of them really made it far. The Conners siblings, Robert Spock, Alexander Robins and Julia, Joeseph Liferich and the list goes on and on."nodded Sydney.

"Now also young Lily Robins... who would´ve thought she has such a writing talent. Also Lola Tofu... you must also be proud of _your_ students, Rodney."grinned Weatherby.

"Insanely proud, Theo. In fact I really hope, that I become Chichi and Phil´s homeroom teacher. I´ve really taken a liking to them during the contest."

Weatherby grinned at his former student.

"Be careful what you wish for, Rodney. Those two can be hard to handle – the escapades they sometimes get into."

"You can say that again. I can´t seem to remember such a pair in all my years of teaching."noted Sydney happily and the three men laughed.

"Nevertheless I believe both of them will be amazing contributions to this town. Who knows, one of my students may even become the mayor of this lovely town once ol´ Haveitall retires."said Weatherby musingly.

"Unless Angela succeeds her father first."noted Sydney.

The very name was enough to start Rodney´s emotions again. His two companion´s attention was at once on him again as the cards dropped from his hands.

"All right, Rodney... what´s going on?"asked Weatherby urgently.

Shaking his head and picking up the cards Rodney took a deep sigh.

"Forget it... its stupid."

The two older men looked at eachother.

"So tell us. We won´t laugh."prompted Sydney.

"Yes. Just get it out. You´ll feel better."nodded Weatherby.

Sighing Rodney thought about it. Well... he DID trust them and perhaps he really should tell it to someone...

"All right... you see... I ended up in a very... strange situation..."he started and dealt the cards.

For almost half an hour he told them everything – the entire conficting jumble of emotions he felt for his long-time friend. Weatherby even brought them more drinks.

"All right... so basicly you fell in love with Angela and you say, that you´re too old for her."said Weatherby summing it all up.

Gulping his drink, Rodney nodded with a deep sigh.

"That´s nonsence, Rodney. Sure, its a 10 year difference, but Angela is _twenty five_ now. And from what I´ve seen, she seems to be as smitten with you as she was when I taught her."said Weatherby.

Rodney frowned.

"B...but... the 10 year difference. Angie deserves someone young and..."

"But she wants YOU, Rodney. And believe me – if there is one single person who can tell you, that age differences don´t matter in love, its ME. Just look at me and my Sophia."said Sydney referring to his wife.

Rodney thought about it, already knowing the story. Sydney was a bachelour for way too many years, but one day almost six years ago he fell hopelessly in love with a girl he once taught – a girl who was half his age. They started spending time together and Sydney found out, that his feelings were returned. So it happened, that a fourty year old man married a twenty year old young woman.

"I sometimes still remember her on her very first day in school when I became her homeroom teacher. She was such a little cutie even then."said Sydney smiling fondly.

"And Sophia always said, that you were her best teacher. Anyway it just proves the point, Rodney."nodded Weatherby.

"In any case, while her parents scoffed at the idea at first, they eventually softened up. You, Rodney... as far as I know, have always known Mayor Haveitall. He holds you in great regards and that´s a major plus."said Sydney.

Rodney bit his lip.

"I´m not sure. What will he think if I...?"

"He´s a father, Rodney. He´ll want the best for his daughter. And since he knows you, I´m sure he won´t be against the idea."noted Weatherby.

Rodney was suddenly feeling a small glimer of hope. He closed his eyes for a moment and thought about Angie – the lively little girl he used to babysit, the bright-eyed 12 year old that told him she loved him, the careless teenager he used to teach, the young deputy-mayor who keeps an eye on her father...

"I will give you one piece of advice..."said Sydney, bringing Rodney once more to reality.

"GO FOR IT!"

...

"Aaaaand welcome back everyone. We´re coming to you live this lovely sunny Sunday from the Beauvillage Aquapark."announced Angie to general applause.

The Aquapark was crammed full and the entire event was overseen by Trashbin´s crew, who operated most of the equipment. The giant wide-screen was once more active, showing the basic picture and underneath it was the stage, where the contestants were standing along with the narrators. Chichi and his crew had worked tirelessly to build up additional ports at some of the turns, where the red-flagged poles were placed in the water. Also Trashbin and his crew lend a hand to build a few ports, so that the cameras could tape from many angles and at the same time, give the audience a place to stand on and be closer to the action. And indeed many Beauvillagers – most of them teenagers could not resist the oppoturnity to do so. On the edges of the large wide-screen stage there were the cabins for the contestants, where they can stash their stuff and get changed for the contest. On the other side of the screen was a large tent, built for the judges and the narrators. On the very end of the aquapark was a large finish-line post, where a large table was set not too far from the fence, that separated the crowd from the finishing area – also present was a one-man operated camera which would monitor both the commentary table and the finish line. At the table sat Titus Hubbub and Pop Tofu, who had taken up the roles of being the commentators for the race. Along the line were many billboards which shown the logos of the many Beauvillage sponsors, who contributed greatly to this round. Giant poles were placed here and there, each holding a big speaker, so that everyone could hear the narrators speak.

"Now the time has finally come to reveal the secret bonus round."announced Lola into the microphone.

"You got it, Lola. But before that, let´s call our beloved judges. Aaaaand here they are. Everyone let´s have a round of applause for... Rodney Philips..."

Loosely dressed, Rodney made his way up to the stage, fighting down the blush as he took his place next to Angie.

"... Frederick Wiseman..."

Wiseman came up walking importaintly, dressed in his trademark detective coat.

"... and last but definitely not least, Michael Miles..."

Miles stared from the judge´s tent before his eyes found Trashbin.

"Hit it, TB!"he commanded and Trashbin gave a small signal to one of his boys.

At once the main theme of a popular show _**The CoastWatch**_ started playing from the speakers and Miles jumped from the tent dressed in swimming trunks, a floating vest and holding a large yellow rubber duck instead of the surf-board the main characters of the show had. The sight at once prompted hilarious laughter even as Miles walked cool-as-ice towards the stage accompanied by the theme, his sunglasses gleaming in the sun. Lola rolled her eyes, though she too couldn´t help but giggle thistime. Wiseman however clapped a palm to his forehead.

"Is THAT how one is _supposed_ to look?!"he exclaimed as Miles took his place between him and a chuckling Rodney.

"Come on, Wisey... what if one of these cuties doesn´t know how to swim? _Someone_ has to be at hand to save them from the watery depths."he said, grinning at the girls and giving them a thumbs-up, making most of them giggle.

Rodney laughed.

"And the rubber duck, Miles?"he asked pointing to it.  
Miles gave him a pouty look.

"Surfboards are old and _laaaaaame_."he said as though that explained everything.

The crowd laughed along with everyone else. Once the laughter died out, Angie came closer to pass the microphone to Rodney. Her sweet smile and the brush of her fingers as she passed him the mic made him feel dizzy and he took a small moment to compose himself as she moved away.

"All right, ladies... The objective of this round is plain and simple. **Reach the finish line first**. The course has been marked by the red flags. For this we´ll be using the Aquapark´s trademark **Dingy-Bashers**."he said pointing to the bashers, already prepared in the water.

"As most of you know, these genius contraptions bounce from one another. We´ve decided, that this type of fun should not be prohibited..."

"In other words, girls... BASH AWAY!"exclaimed Miles, as he took the other mic from Lola.

A giant over-excited roar from just about everyone rang trough the aquapark.

"There are rules too!"announced Wiseman as he snatched the microphone from Miles.

"Rule number one – anyone who falls into the water is OUT!"

At once several of the contestants looked at eachother uncertainly.

"Don´t worry ladies...!"exclaimed Miles as he pulled the microphone from Wiseman.

"Me and _Sweettooth_ here will save you, if that happens."he said raising the rubber duck (which had a large toothy smile) into the air for all to see.

"I CAN´T BELIVE IT! YOU EVEN **NAMED **THE DAMN THING?!"exclaimed Wiseman as he tried to wrestle the microphone from Miles´ grasp.

"What´s up?! Its a cute name!"protested Miles.

"THAT´S NOT THE POINT, YOU CRAZY HOOLIGAN!"

Looking at them, Rodney quickly raised the microphone.

"And the second rule – once a dingy-basher passes beyond the racing area marked by the red flags, its considered a _ring out_. The first five who reach the finish line will pass the round. Other than that, ladies... you have a free hand. Or should I say, _feet_..."he added happily before passing the microphone back to Angie.

Lola quickly moved towards the two bickering boys and snatched the microphone from them.

"Now that our _mature_ judges have explained the rules..."said Lola, shooting the pair a scrowl.

Miles scratched his head and grinned sheepishly, while Wiseman pouted, crossed his arms and shot her a "He started it" look.

"Its time to introduce our girls..."announced Angie happily to general applause.

Lola and Angie moved to the end of the port, where the numerous dingy-bashers were floating on the water´s edge. However the dingy-bashers at the port weren´t the only ones in the water. A few of them were at different other sides of the aquapark. Besides them stood Chichi, his crew and the trio of the brotherhood – all tasked to be on hand should somthing happen during the race, each of them watching the wide-screen as the first girl was stepping up on the port.

"... _Tamara Hoodwood_..."announced Lola and a large applause acompanied Tammy, who was dressed in comfortable grey short pants, a bright red t-shirt with a large sunny yellow star on it and simple sneakers.

"... _Allana Aberforth_..."introduced Angie as Allana, dressed in her swimsuit and a signature light-blue jacket of the Beauvillage Swimming Team came to the end of the port besides Tammy.

"..._Cherie Peters_... "

In the spirit of professionality Lola didn´t let any of her feelings show as she announced the name, but inwardly scrowled as Cherie came up. In her swimsuit and large sunglasses she walked up, showing off a bit here and there – completly in her element, even as numerous wolf-whistles mingled in with the cheers. Looking at the screen, Billy turned his look at his best friend and was not dissapointed. Steve was gawking at what he saw, his mouth wide open, face completly red and looking as though he was in a sort of trance. Chuckling to himself, Billy thought that he couldn´t really blame him – not since _he_ himself was staring at Lola like that during the Splashland pool party a few days ago.

"... _Candy Liferich_..."

At once the wolf-whistles rang even more than the applause – coming from almost every single boy, teenager and younger men in the crowd as Candy was walking towards the end of the port clad only in her bright pink bikini, giggling like a little school-girl. Her bare skin looked flawless and her figure... was undoubtably one that aroused many male´s attention – reducing them to blushing, wolf-whistling and overreactive fools in the opinion of the female population. Indeed several girls in the crowd positively growled in rage, many scoffing and humphing at the show Candy was putting up and coldly glaring the boys. April swiftly turned her sights on Chichi however she instantly breathed a sigh of relief, for Chichi unlike too many boys around was looking completly neutral at the sight, as was Billy, Steve and Phil. Joe and Maurice were red-faced and staring as though they couldn´t believe their eyes and even tiny Victor was left with his mouth wide open positively drooling.

"STOP OGGLING AT HER, YOU LONG-NOSED PERVERT!"

Mia´s all-mighty yell was heared even among the crowd´s cheer. Nick, still with his sky-mask on turned to the sound.

"I´M NOT OGGLING AT ANYONE YOU CRAZED BLONDE-HEAD!"he yelled back, waving his fist in the air angrily.

Archie and Tex looked at eachother and Nick immediatly rounded on them.

"ONE word and I´ll pound you, understand?!"he threatened menacingly.

Chichi, Phil and Billy, who were standing close to them stiffled their laughter, but also said nothing.

"..._Lis Milo_..."

At Lola´s announcement, Lis came up. Dressed in light-blue short pants, stylish sleeveless red tank-top and black racing hand-gloves, which left her fingers bare. Her mask ever-present on her face, she looked like a real race-competitor.

"WoooOOOOW! YA´ SEE **THAT**?! COOOLNESS!"exclaimed Miles wildly slapping Wiseman on the shoulder with his free hand franticly.

"STOP THAT! I SEE HER ALREADY!"yelled Wiseman, jumping away from Miles.

Lis couldn´t help but grin to herself.

"... _Hazel Summerville_..."

As Hazel was stepping up, the two tall, muscular red-haired boys were surveying it from the main viewing post, but apparently had no interest in the entire thing. Suddenly a blonde-haired boy wearing glasses came up and stood infront of them.

"We were begining to worry..."said one of the pair to him.

With a small smirk, Jaq turned to answer him.

"You have nothing to worry about, Gerard. I know I took longer than I thought, but..."

"Where were you all this time, _patron_?"asked the other one.

Rolling his eyes Jaq looked at him.

"Where do you think, Gabriel?!"

Gabriel thought to himself for a small moment, while the name of _Irene Ivory_ was announced.

"_La toilette?_"he asked dumbly.

Jaq resisted the urge to slap his forehead.

"NO, you buffoon! I was at the contestant´s cabins finishing my grand desighn."

The two twins shared a confused look.

"But we have done everything at midnight..."noted Gerard.

Jaq´s patience was growing thin.

"Our mission is to create a scandal. Which is why we need to point the blame on someone. And I had the perfect victim chosen for it."he said, smiling deviously.

However upon looking at his two cohorts, he saw that their faces were completly clueless.

"_Mon Dieu..._"he sighed and shook his head as _Dana Pennyfeather_ came up to the end of the port.

It was completly clear to him by now, that The Two Ton Twins seemingly got all their physical strength in order to compensate for their pitifully low intelligence. Shrugging the matter off, he returned his sights to the main port, where _Dorothy Nightly_ and _Anabell Richerly_ joined their fellow contestants, the devious look once more prominent on his face.

"_The real show is about to begin._"

...

"Welcome to the race, dear fans... most of you know me, Titus "_Hotwheel_" Hubbub..."announced Titus into his mic at the commentary table, pointing to himself with his thumb as the polite applause rang.

"And me – Jake "_Greenthumb_" Tofu..."waved Pop good-naturedly as another wave of applause went with Mom, Buba, Bee, the Spocks and the Robins in lead.

Titus took one exaspirated look at Pop, rolling his eyes at Pop´s attempt to copy his nickname, but said nothing and returned to his microphone.

"We will be your guides during this amazing race. Since all the girls were already introduced, all that´s left to do is wait for Judge Wiseman to start the race."

The girls all jumped into their respective dingy-bashers – each of them as determined as the next. A wave of silence gripped the entire Aquapark as Wiseman stepped up to the end of the port, a small pistol in his hand. Knowing exactly what an _expert _pistol-marksman Wisey is, Chichi insisted that they use a smoke-marking pistol, often used as a signal for help. The girls all turned over their shoulder to look at Wiseman, who eyed them all in turn.

"Now I want a nice clean race... from all of you..."he said surveying them all, his sunglasses gleaming in the sun-light – Wisey was obviously determined to put up a tough front.

Pointing the pistol into the air, he was ready to start the race making one more step forward. However his foot didn´t reach onto the port, but instead came into contact with nothingness. Trying desperately to regain his balance he jerked from one way to the other – his pistol-held hand going in all possible directions. As his hand flew behind him a loud BANG rang trough the aquapark and those behind him quickly ducked as the color-projectile flew across the port narrowly missing the wide-screen and flying straight to the Judge´s tent. There it exploded with a BOOM, spraying its colorfull contents into the tent, almost lifting it off the ground in the process. Rodney, Angie, Lola and Trashbin were instantly happy that they didn´t leave any of their belongings in it, Miles though he did payed no attention to it at the moment. With the BANG sound, the crowd went wild and the girls wasted not a second in stepping on the bashers´ pedals as hard as they possibly could. **Too hard** as it seemed, for all ten bashers were instantly away from the port in such speed, that it raised a small tidal-wave, that Wiseman who just regained his balance was sprayed head-to toe by. That instantly messed up his balance and thistime the frantic waving of his arms didn´t stop his plunge into the water a second later. Many of the crowd couldn´t resist the urge to laugh and that went double for the cast at the wide-screen. Miles also wasn´t able to resist.

"CLUMZY COP OVERBOARD!"he yelled happily into the mic, only increasing the crowd´s laughter.

"Aaaaand they´re off... and oh boy, what a start."commented Titus a second later.

"You´ve said it, Titus... all these lovely roses seem to be in top condition... to be so fast..."nodded Pop happily.

At the crew´s side, Chichi scrowled at what he was seeing.

"Too fast..."he grumbled, biting his lips and squinting one of his eyes – something was a miss over here...

"What´s up, Chichi?"asked Billy, swiftly catching on to Chichi´s behaveour.

Watching the racing dingy-bashers in race with his binoculars, Chichi´s dark look only increased. Walking towards one of the bashers parked by their side, he double-checked them, squeezing the rubber with his tumb and index finger. A puzzled look came over him and he swiftly gazed at the racing bashers once more, pondering on something. Suddenly his face took on a shocked look and he gave a loud gasp. Turning around he looked at Nick, Tex and Archie.

"Take your walkie-talkies! Signal Wiseman to stop the race! NOW!"he commanded urgently.

The trio looked at eachother in alarm, but at once rounded on Chichi.

"Who are you to boss us around?!"exclaimed Tex angrily.

"Yeah! And why should we stop the race?! Nothing´s wrong!"piped up Archie.

"This isn´t the time to argue! Do it, NOW!"yelled Chichi and at once turned to his crew, who were gazing at him in alarm.

"Billy, Joe, Maurice, into your bashers FAST! Swim towards the racers an stop them before they have a chance to bash eachother!"

Recodnizing that the urgent tone in his command was no laughing matter, each of them obeyed Chichi´s order without a single thought and ran for their bashers.

"Phil, you and Steve keep an eye out for the crowd, make sure everyone runs away if a basher flies this way."

Phil and Steve instantly sped towards the crowd. During his run, Steve was shocked and puzzled at what could be wrong.

"_Oh no... please don´t tell me she..._"he thought panicly as he took up his post and watched out for any basher coming their way.

"Vic, alert Pop and ol´Hubbub that something is wrong! Have them stop the race!"commanded Chichi and Victor wasted not a second, speeding towards the commentary table.

Wthout so much as a second glance at the brotherhood, Chichi moved – jumping into his dingy-basher and taking off at a considerably slower speed than the contestants. At the wide-screen, the cast looked on at what was going on even as Wiseman was desperately trying to pull himself up to the port – failing miserably.

"What´s going on?"asked Lola, seeing that her brother, boyfriend and two other boys occupied their bashers but were moving slower than the girls towards them.

"I have no idea. D´you think something has gone wrong?"said Rodney.

"Come on, let´s help Fred out of the water."suggested Angie, sencing nothing wrong and already moving towards the end of the port as Titus´ commentary sounded troughout the Aquapark.

The girls were racing at high speed, some faster than the other, some changing directions in an effort to bash their opponents away.

"Oh... and Tammy is changing direction. We can expect the first bash in mere seconds."announed Titus to general cheer, the crowd happily anticipating the thing with as much glee as Titus.

"Wait!... Wait!..."came a youthfull voice, which was out of breath.

Pop turned towards the source of the voice and spotted tiny Victor stopping at their table, completly out of breath, Titus completly preoccupied with the race to notice.

"Oh... didn´t notice you there, little bud... you wanted to share in making the commentary?"he asked kindly, smiling at him.

Victor was panting, trying with all his might to catch his breath.

"N...no... Chichi... Chichi... said... to... stop..."he tried getting out, trying to warn them, but too late.

"Aaaand here´s the first bash!"exclaimed Titus happily as Tammy´s dingy-basher came into contact with Hazel´s.

The two bashers instantly flew from eachother with such power, that both girls shrieked as the bashers litterally flew across the water for several feet.

"Why you...!"exclaimed Hazel, determined to get even and at once paddling her basher towards her.

Suddenly however Irene´s basher came into contact with hers and they once more bounced from eachother with incredible power. Hazel was sent flying along with her basher towards the wide-screen port along the considerable distance. Irene on the other hand wasn´t so lucky. Her dingy-basher was sent spinning out of control. Irene let out a terrified shriek as the basher, spinning violently flew across the water and came in contact with one of the boundary flags, breaking it on contact. At once a sickeningly loud BOOM rang trough the aquapark as Irene´s dingy-basher exploded, sending her flying into the water. The crowd gave a collective gasp as Irene ended up in the water and was visibly coughing and spitting out water – completly in shock. Suddenly however, a dingy-basher sped up towards her and instantly Irene felt a hand grasp onto hers, pulling her towards the basher. The girl wasted not a moment, using the hand to help herself into the stafety of the basher. Coughing violently, trying to catch her breath she even failed to see the face of her saviour.

"Are you all right? Anything broken?"asked a boy´s voice as she felt the basher paddle moving them away at a lot slower speed than she rode with.

Recodnizing the voice and finally catching her breath, she double-checked herself for any injuries before smiling up gratefully at the paddling boy.

"Luckily not... thanks for the save, Chichi."

At the same moment, Hazel´s basher was on a direct course for the main port, where Angie was pulling her cousin out of the water. With a loud SMASH the one of the port´s main wooden poles were brocken upon contact with the basher, sending the basher flying back towards the finish-line with even greater speed. However the contact shook the entire port and sent both Wiseman and Angie flying into the water.

"ANGIE!" exclaimed Rodney in horror and in a heartbeat he ran as though for his life, jumped from the ruined remaines of the port and dived into the water.

Franticly reaching for her underwater he pulled her to the surface.

"Angie! Are you all right?!"he asked in panic as she coughed and spat water.

"Yes... I... I think so..."she struggled to say.

Breathing a sigh of relief Rodney swam out towards the shore, keeping a firm hold on her, his mind painfully reminding him of the dangerous fall and the possible concequences.

Hazel´s dingy-basher once more came into contact with two others, sending the others flying away, while still spinning hers once more almost on spot.

As Dana and Dorothy flew away into separate directions, Dana´s basher came into contact with Billy´s who was coming to help, sending both of them flying into the water.

"BILLY!"exclaimed Lola in terror, but upon another look, she saw her boyfriend´s head pop out of the water and instantly swim towards Dana.

Dorothy shrieking in terror hit the basher which was occupied by Lis, sending Lis flying trough the barriers towards shore, where she flew out of the basher and landed with a thud on the sandy ground. However the basher flew straight trough the billboard´s middle, showering Lis´ body with woody rubble of the brocken sighn. Gasping Miles swiftly threw aside the rubber duck and swiftly started running across the shores in an effort to reach Lis.

The only one enjoying the thing it seemed was Candy. Giggling like mad, she troughoutly enjoyed being thrusted into several directions by Cherie´s basher, sending her basher up front towatds the finish-line in a rocket-like speed.

"EVERYONE RUN OUT OF THE WAY!"roared Phil to the crowd as they saw Candy´s basher flying in their direction.

The crowd didn´t need telling twice. At once almost everyone was trying to get out of the way. Victor also alerted Pop and Titus, but at the same moment all three froze for Candy was approaching waaaaay too fast. At once grabbing Victor, Pop jumped out of the way, forcing himself to the ground while trying to shield the young boy. Titus also jumped out of the way on the other side, spraying himself on the ground as Candy´s basher litterally flew across the finish-line and banged straight into the commentary´s table, breaking it into a milion pieces. However the impact sent the basher flying into the air, spinning violenty and on a direct course for the almost deserted fan-sector. Mia shrieked in terror as she saw, that her crazy sister´s basher was right above her head and the fall would most certainly catch her in the impact. Suddenly however she felt someone grab her arm and yank her fiercely out of harm´s reach. With a powerfull CRASH Candy´s basher landed on the woody surface of the fan section´s fence, breaking everything with a sickening CRASH. Mia opened her eyes to see, who pulled her away from certain injury, only to come face to face with a dark-green sky-mask.

"NICK?!"she exclaimed in shock, then realized the position she was in.

Apparently Nick grabbed her by the arms and forced both her and himself on the ground when the basher struck. This left him laying on his back with Mia pressed tightly on himself. Mia´s face exploded in red color not only because she realized the position, but because he had come to her aid once again. Before she could say a thing however Nick gave a painfull moan. Looking at him, she saw that he pulled them into the woody ground and bruised himself considerably in the process.

"Nick..."she began, completly at a loss for words at his bravery.

"Ouch... drop it, Blondie... are you all right?"growled Nick.

As she nodded a girlish giggle rang from the crashed dingy-basher.

"I WON!"exclaimed Candy, as her head popped up from the basher, her face sunny-bright.

Mia saw red in one instant.

"YOU... You stupid brain-damaged COW! Can´t you see how dangerous this was?! Look what you did to Nick!"she exclaimed gesturing to Nick who was getting up, obviously battered and bruised.

"Its all good, sis... I´ve taken the lead!"whooped Candy happily in obvious joy.

Mia gave out a roar of pure rage and made to lash out at her sister, determined to beat some sence into her thick skull. However something grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back. Mia didn´t have to guess twice to know who it was.

"Lemme go, Nick! I´m gonna beat that stupid cow to DEATH!"she roared, but Nick dispite his bruises kept a firm hold on her.

"Forget it, Mia... We have a situation over here! We gotta make sure no one gets hurt!"he urged and Mia instantly defused a bit.

Turning in his arms, she looked at Nick´s still masked face.

"Fine... you win monkey-head... but first..."

Before Nick could say a thing, Mia pulled the sky-mask off his face and delivered a kiss on his cheek.

"_That_ was for saving me again..."she said quietly adverting his gaze, her cheeks red.

Nick stood frozen on the spot, completly lost as to how to reply.

"J...just don´t read too much into it, long-nose... I´m gratefull, not _stupid_!"added Mia, determined to keep her pride.

Suddenly a loud crash made them come back to reality as Cherie´s dingy basher also came to contact with solid ground and thrust her onto it. With a loud gasp both of them could see Steve rushing to her aid.

"Come on, Mia... let´s help whoever we can..."muttered a still red-faced Nick and Mia nodded quietly.

As the pair sped away hand-in-hand, Steve was busy picking Cherie up from the ground.

"O...ouch... that sure hurt..."muttered Cherie, as she came to her feet.

At once she froze at the look in Steve´s eyes. One that was showing extreme hurt.

"C...Cherie... you...you _promised_..."whispered Steve, his voice only confirming the look in his eyes.

Cherie felt her heart break at the hurt prominent in her long-time friend´s eyes and voice. At once she knew, what he meant but... but thistime...

"S... Stevie... I didn´t... I _swear_ I didn´t..."she breathed quietly, but at once knew that it did very little to persuade Steve of what she said.

She gasped as she saw tears forming in his eyes.

"I... I _trusted_ you... I belived that... you´ve... changed and stopped cheating..."

Among all the pain she felt at the moment, a surpreme sence of panic gripped her and once more she was reminded of the pain she felt years back, when her machinations caused Billy Hubbub to yell at her. Only thistime... it was **a milion times worse**. The tears she saw rolling on Steve´s cheeks were affecting her stronger than anything in her life.

"WATCH OUT!"sounded a loud warning coming from Victor and the pair at once turned and saw with horror, that another dingy-basher was coming straight at them.

With only a split-second to spare, Steve grabbed Cherie´s shoulders and shoved her as far away from him as possible. Before she could fall to the ground, Cherie chaught a terrifying sight of Steve being hit directly by the dingy-basher, which bounced off him and with another bounce off the ground, landed in the water upside-down. Steve however was shot with powerfull force away into the fan-area, smashing trough the wood benches in the wake of his flight, before coming to a sickening stop at the large fence as Cherie fell to the ground.

"STEVIE!"squaled Cherie in fright the second she got off the ground.

Wasting not a second, she didn´t even look at Tammy Hoodwood, who emerged in the water next to the overturned dingy-basher. The world seemed to black-out completly and all Cherie could think about was getting to Steve´s side. In a heartbeat she sprinted to the crash-site. Her heart was going a mile a minute as she reached Steve who was laying on his front. She barely breathed as she turned him on his back and the sight chilled her bones. His eyes were shut, his glasses were centimeters from them both and they were completly ruined, most likely from the force of the impact. Cherie gasped as she saw blood rolling from the side of his head.

"Stevie...? Stevie, wake up..."she mumbled shaking his shoulders.

Steve however remained motionless no matter how hard she shook him. Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried yet again.

"Stand aside Cherie..."

Turning to the source of the voice, she saw to her great relief that Dr Robert Spock was standing there and moving towards them.

"He´s not waking up, Dr Spock... "she said hurriedly, trying to explain the situation, but Dr Spock was already looking him over.

"Oh no..."he whispered, at once signalling to some of his collagues, who immediately ran for the stretchers, something that shocked Cherie very much, for it seemed to be very clear how serious the situation was.

Without so much as a concious thought, she sped up, sprinting after Dr Spock and his collagues as soon as Steve was on the strechers – caring about only one single thing at the moment.

Michael Miles also cared about one single thing right now. Scanning the crash-site with his eyes before he reached it, he sped up his pace and was there in an instant. Quickly tossing aside the larger pieces of brocken wood in a frantic speed, he suddenly heared a small moan coming from beneath it. The smaller peices shook as Lis stirred.

"Lis, ´you OK? Anything broken, battered or missin´?"asked Miles quickly as the said girl was trying to raise herself from the ground, one hand on her head.

Swiftly assisting her, he tried to check himself for any sighn of serious injuries.

"I think I´m fine, Miles... a bit bruised but otherwise okay."said Lis weakly and Miles was shocked when he heared that voice – he recodnized it very well.

For a moment it seemed a bit wierd. Over the course of the contest Lis barely spoke in his presence and when she did, her voice was a bit deeper. Now however her voice was normal albeit a bit weaker and as she raised her head, Miles saw, that her mask remained on the ground. Lis gasped, noticing this too, but it was far too late. Even with the straightened hair, Miles´ eyes were wide open as he recodnized her.

"L...Lily...?"he breathed quietly, his face visibly in shock – something Lily was sure was not a good thing.

For a small moment they gazed at eachother, both unsure what to do or say as the world around them seemed to have come to a stop.

"WOAH! LIS´ MASK FELL OFF!"shouted Victor not too far from them, and the gathered people behind him gave a collective gasp – each as curious as the other in finding out, who the mystery girl is.

Miles turned a bit in their direction, but Lily gasped – the mixture of feelings echoing in her head so much, it was unbearable. Without another thought, she turned and ran as fast as she possibly could, climbing over the fence in the process.

"YO! WAIT...!"exclaimed Miles, but too late.

Lis... or rather Lily was already gone, determined to put as much space between her and the Aquapark as possible. As the crowd gave a collective "awww" of mixed concern for the girl and the dissapointment of not finding out who she was, Miles just stood there rooted at the spot – his mind AND head spinning. This girl... this cool mysterious girl, that Lola told him entered the competition to try and win his heart was... one of his friends...

...

**A/N:** Weeeeell... a few perv moments here and there and also a controversal thing too - Principal´s wife :D Btw... that´s whom he was talking to on "Operation Biorhytm" episode, when Chichi was sitting in his office :D Also I´ve taken the liberty of bringing back both Splashland (the place, where Lola and Lily were when Lola got a crush for Nick´s cousin) and also The Beauvillage Aquapark along with Chichi´s Dingy Bashers :D Shame... the Dingy Basher race would be a nice little race if not for... you know what :) Any case... working on the next chapter already :) Till´ then...  
HK 07


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The front door of the Tofu household flew open and in came Buba, Mom, Bee and Beth in the lead – all four women swiftly moving around the house. After them came Matthew and Natalie Conners, Alexander and Julia Robins – their faces sporting extreme concern. Straight after them stepped in Pop and Titus, who were carrying a chair on which sat Mayor Haveitall – his face frozen in a wierd grinning grimace, his body as stiff as a log in the wake of his utter shock. Entering last were Angie, Rodney – both still dripping wet, along with Lola and Billy.

"Here, you three... you´ll need these."said Beth as she came back into the kitchen with three big towels and passed them to Rodney, Angie and finally her son, who was as drenched as the pair of them.

"Thank you, Mrs Hubbub."said Rodney gratefully as he wrapped one of the towles around himself.

"Yeah. Thanks Mom."said Billy smiling a bit as he reached for the towel.

Before he could do so however, Lola beat him to it and took the towel from Beth swiftly spreading it and covering her dear boyfriend, who gave her a loving look as her eyes were double-checking him for any injury he might have sustained during the entire messed-up race.

Angie however made no effort to even take the towel from Beth. Her eyes were set on her dear father and showing utmost concern as Bee fussed around him.

"What if something really serious happened to him...? He´s not particuraly young anymore... what if... what if he suffered a heart-attack or something?"fretted Angie fearfully.

Bee gave her a reassuring smile and shook her head before she reached into her pocket and extracted something which looked like a large pen-case.

"No worries, Angela... your father merely lost his cosmical balance for a moment, that´s all... Do not worry... that´s easily remedied."

Bee´s statement however did absolutely nothing to calm her.

"C...cosmical balance...?That´s BAD isn´t it?!"whispered Angie, her anxiety growing.

Suddenly she felt a warm towel being wrapped around her shoulders.

"No, Angie... you heared Ms Lotsabucks... its easily remedied."said Rodney in a soothing voice.

Angie instantly relaxed to the touch, feeling her anxiety melting away at the feel of Rodney´s hands massaging her shoulders soothingly trough the towel. Unconciously she moved more into the touch, not wanting it to end. However both of them gasped as they saw Bee produce a wierd-looking instrument from the pen-case – something that looked like a mixture of a compasses and a ruler. In the middle of it was a small crystal-pendlum and Bee gave it a small spin. Lola goaned to herself and returned to the task of drying Billy´s hair as she seated her boyfriend on the nearby chair. Billy on the other hand gave a small chuckle at the scene – growing quite used to Mom Tofu´s and Bee´s _zen-examinations_. Mom also approached Bee, looking over at the frozen mayor.

"Well, Bee?"she inquired curiously.

Looking carefully at the instrument, seeing that the pendlum was angled closer to the left side.

"Clearly he´s off... left side, sixty degrees – that only means one thing – fear, shock, disbelief."said Bee, nodding to herself.

Lola slapped herself on the forehead.

"You don´t have to use a _zen-examination_ to tell me THAT!"she grumbled more to herself than anyone.

"Now, sweet buttercup... you know your Mom and Bee are experts at this. Let´s just be glad, that they couldn´t detect anything more serious."said Pop as he and Titus seated themselfs nearby along with the other guests.

Lola tensed in anger, but Billy´s hand that reached over his shoulder and touched her on the arm made her stop.

"Drop it, Lola. We´d better get back to the Aquapark and help Chichi."he said as he took the oppoturnity to pull his wet T-shirt over his head as he stood up.

Nodding, Lola took his hand and allowed herself to be lead out the main door towards the Hubbub House.

As the door slammed, Pop and Titus exchanged small smiles and looked at their wives, who were busy preparing food for everyone.

Also Buba was busy at the stove, boiling water in order to cook her famous Nettle Tea, which was said to be very good for the nerves. Rodney took a small look around the house and realized that his hands were still on Angie´s shoulders.

"_Now´s as good time as any..._"he thought to himself, inwardly scolding himself a bit for being so damn nervous.

But as he was pulling Angie out of the water following her horrible-looking fall, Rodney resolved himself to finally do something about the issue that haunted him for many weeks and months.

"Angie...?"

Angie looked over her shoulder to look at Rodney and the unreadable expression on his face.

"Could you come with me for a bit...? There´s something I wanted to talk to you about..."he said quietly pointing to the main door.

...

Immediatly following the disasterous end of the race, Chichi and his crew remained along with Wiseman and the brotherhood in order to quickly solve who was responsible for the sabotage. In fact, the party present at the Tofu Household was the only one allowed to leave the Aquapark – Wiseman had insisted in closing up the main gate and not let anyone out until the investigation was completed. The only other exception to the rule were Dr Spock and his wife with two other medics that took the injured Steve Rowan to the clinic. The other medics remained there too and were treating the numerous cuts and bruises the contestants and some of the onlookers sustained.

Though Wiseman and his brotherhood innitially suspected Chichi to be behind the entire matter, they were forced to drop the subject following the stirring defence of his sister, his friends, Rodney Philips and even Martin Skylark himself. Furious, Wiseman instantly called his policemen to the spot and now a massive questioning was underway. During this time, the brotherhood along with their allies and Chichi along with his crew were litterally tearing the place apart – scanning the numerous damage to the aquapark, searching for clues and double-checking everything. Chichi – being the creator of the Dingy Bashers, provided the others with his suspition and an explanation as to WHY the girls´ bashers behaved the way they did during the race.

"They were over-inflated."he explained to everyone as he took one of the brocken wooden poles and stepped towards one of the bashers used by the crew.

Striking it with the pole, the basher bounced it off but not too strongly. Approaching one of the girls´ bashers, which was on the ground, he did the same. Upon the stike, the basher litterally bounced away from him and landed several feet away, with Chichi being bounced back from it so strongly, that he instantly let go of the pole and used his hands to break his fall to the ground as the wooden pole flew across the air and landed into the waters of the aquapark. April instantly rushed to his side, but Chichi took no notice of it.

"See?"he asked the others as they gave a collective sound of realization.

"So what you´re saying, young Chichi... is that someone has over-inflated them... I´m guessing whoever could do this would have to know _exactly_ how they work."said Wiseman smartly.

Shaking his head, Chichi sighed.

"Its not THAT hard to figure out how they work. _Anyone_ could do this..."

Wiseman looked stumped for a second before recomposing himself.

"Well... in any case... whoever did it, must´ve did it shortly before the race began. Afterall, everything was checked over countless times before the start of the round. Which means, the culprit HAS to be here... My briliant deductive skills tell me, that the culprit is someone who knows the inside going-ons of this contest..."

Phil sighed and growled under his breath.

"Not hard to figure out, when the details of the race were announced three hours ago..."

Wiseman however took no notice of it and continued pacing up and down in the wake of his deduction.

"... that has to mean, that the culprit is from eighter the camera-crew, young Chichi´s crew or even the cast itself..."

Trashbin folded his arms.

"I can vouch for my men, Detective Wiseman. There´s no way any of them would do this..."

Wiseman however shook his head.

"With all due respect, Mr Skylark... until we find some evidence to the contrary, EVERYONE is a suspect in my eyes... well... except my trusty Brotherhood of course."

Nick, Tex and Archie shared a smirk even as Chichi smacked his forehead, drawing all attention to himself.

"Okay, this is getting us nowhere... First up, I think we should check every single place where the saboteur might´ve left a trace and see what we find."

Wiseman whooped happily.

"Excellent idea, young Chichi... Of course, that was my aim all along... come my brothers, we have clues to find."

Without another word Nick, Tex, Archie and Wiseman ran into all possible directions determined to find evidence, leaving April, Chichi and his crew and Trashbin standing there.

"Jeez... its really gonna be a loooong day."muttered Chichi as they watched their retreating backs.

"Don´t worry Chichi honey-bun. We´ll solve this for sure if Wiseman doesn´t."said April soothingly.

"Yeah, Chichi."nodded Phil.

Taking another small sigh, Chichi smiled and nodded. His simle grew larger as he saw that Billy and Lola were coming their way. However when he looked around better, he saw that there was someone missing in their midst.

"Where´s Miles?"

...

"Bummer, bummer, bummer..."moaned Lily for what now felt like a milionth time.

Laying on her bed, she didn´t even bother to take off the race costume. Her mask however was on her bedside table the moment she got back. Lucky her parents weren´t home... even THEY didn´t know that she was Lis all along. Ironicly, just yesterday during dinner they both said, that Lis was their favourite contestant. But THAT was not bothering her just now. MILES had seen her! She was planning on finally revealing her true identity, but under **much** different circumstances.

"_Now what am I gonna do? Talk about awkward... how am I going to explain everything to him?_"she thought furiously.

She remembered all too well the shocked look on Miles´ face. She wondered for a while if this entire contest-business could in the end damage their friendship. If he thought she was just like one of his too many fan-girls...

Sighing again she noticed, that the CD she played the moment she closed and locked the doors of her room had stopped playing. Getting up from her bed, she wanted to pick out another of her CDs, but upon reaching for it she spotted something out of her window. Something, that made her gasp in shock. Just beside her window, holding onto the tree that grew there was none other than Michael Miles, grinning like a maniac and waving one of his hands, the other holding on to the tree with the other. In an instant she opened her large window and watched Miles climb trough it into her room.

"Miles... wha... how?"she asked, at a loss for words.

Miles scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.

"Well... I figured, that you´d come home and well... I wanted to see if you´re okay."

Lily was barely breathing, her cheeks turning red. Miles pretended not to notice this and looked around the room.

"Nice room, flower-girl... Funny, this is the first time I´ve been here..."he mused.

"How did you know, which window is from my room?"she asked suddenly.

Miles let out a sheepish laugh.

"Lucky guess... plus I´ve spotted you from the tree. I tried getting your attention for a while, but you seemed a milion miles away."

Sighing once again Lily sat on her bed, looking at the ground.

"Well... you´ve found out now, that I entered the contest too..."

Miles smiled a bit, but turned and looked out the window.

"Well... yeah. Lola and Angie told me, that _Lis_ entered because of ME."he said softly.

Lily cringed a bit. However Miles turned and his face sported a gentle smile.

"One thing boggles my mind though, Lil... _why_ the secret identity?"

Knowing now was the time to come out clean about everything, Lily took a long breath, every fiber of her being hoping for the best outcome.

"Well, first up due to my growing reputation with the book and all, I wasn´t sure mayor Haveitall would permit me to enter. I also thought that a Mystery contestant would be a fun thing not just for me, but also the entire contest..."

Miles gave out a happy chuckle.

"You just love being the mystery-girl, don´cha?"

The gentle teasing prompting a few giggles from her, Lily allowed a small moment to pass before continuing – feeling bolder and bolder.

"And last but not least, I wanted to shut-up that fan-girl movement you seem to have. I know you didn´t want it, but you see... these girls just _claimed_ they love you, without knowing anything about you at all. That got me a bit jealous I admit... None of them know what a cool, funny, mischievous, kind and caring person you really are."

"And _greedy_... don´t forget, greedy."piped up Miles happily, pointing his thumb to his chest proudly.

Lily chuckled again.

"That too... well, those qualities and the little adventures we seem to always have made me... made me fall for you, Michael Miles. You are honestly one of the best people I have ever come across and...well... I... I love you."

"_There... I said it..._"thought Lily as soon as the last three words escaped her lips.

Now it was up to Miles. She looked up at him, holding her breath. Though his expression hadn´t changed much, his cheeks were bright red.

"Weeeell... I guessed as much as soon as I figured everything out... Stupid me never noticed the clue in your name – Lis is Lily in french...haha... Aaaand with everything I saw on the contest, this amazin´ masked girl, the mouthwatering strawberry surprise – have you any _idea_ how tasty that stuff _is_ by the way? And then, suddenly I find out that this cool girl is one of the coolest girls I have ever known and she fought so hard for my little ol´ heart...? What´s a guy supposed to say to _that_, except..."

Still sitting on the bed, Lily watched Miles move closer to her, get to his knees in order to level with her and spread his arms open, his face holding an expression of utter happiness.

"... meine liebe, because of you my heart KAPUT!"

Lily couldn´t help herself in that instant – she burst into giggles.

"THAT´S the wierdest love confession I have EVER heared."she said still giggling.

"Sorry, flower-girl... I´m no good at this..."said Miles grinning like a maniac, his arms still wide-open.

Lily grinned back, her heart whooping in sheer and utter joy.

"_Like I care!_"she exclaimed happily as she jumped into Miles´ arms.

...

Cherie had absolutely no idea how long she was pacing the waiting room of the Beauvillage Medical Clinic, but she didn´t care one bit. She didn´t even bother to head home and change, dispite the fact, that her house was not far from the clinic. She couldn´t rest until she knew, that her dear old friend, her warm and supportive boy, _her _Stevie for short, was all right. Every single minute that passed since the moment that Dr Spock and his wife had brought him into the room and closed the door made her feel more and more anxious. The blood she saw rolling from the side of her head made hers freeze in fear. What if God-forbid, he suffered some sort of heavy damage that would not heal until the end of his life? What if he ended up being confided on a wheel-chair? What if (Cherie was shaking in pure fear at the thought) he fell into some coma and would not wake ever again?! These scenarios played out in her mind since the door closed and made her realize very painfully just how much she felt for him. All of a sudden her entery into the Miss Beauvillage contest to win Miles´ heart came to her as a positively stupid thing to do. As she replayed almost every single thing Steve had ever done for her she wanted to slap herself for not noticing something very importaint. Something she scolded herself she was too stupid to see and it was RIGHT infront of her eyes – that this boy, this kind, sweet boy _loves_ her.

"_And now... it may be too late!_"she told herself as she sat down, the thought itself enough to make her want to cry.

Her heart aching, she almost gave a sob when suddenly the door of the room opened and out came Dr Spock. Cherie was on her feet in an instant.

"Dr Spock! How is he?! Is he all right?! Did he suffer some hard injury?! Will it ever heal?!"she asked franticly.

Dr Spock placed a hand on her shoulder in a soothing manner.

"Calm down, Cherie... calm down. Take a few breaths."he said calmly.

Cherie quickly did as she was instructed, while Dr Spock ushered her back on the bench and sat down next to her.

"Well Cherie... he suffered a small concussion, but its not serious and there won´t be any lasting problem. However he broke his right arm during that crash, so that will take a bit of time to heal."

Cherie gasped.

"Oh no... he´s right-handed..."she whispered.

Dr Spock smiled at her.

"That is only a small problem, Cherie... Let´s be gratefull he didn´t sustain any lasting damage... or worse a lethal one."

"That fact is most fortunate for you, Ms Peters. I won´t have to charge you with murder."said a voice, which came from the very end of the hall, where Wiseman, Nick, Tex, Archie, the Tofu siblings, Billy, Phil and April were standing – and their faces were not exactly friendly ones as they came closer.

"_Murder_?! What the hell are you talking about?!"asked Cherie completly confused.

"The race my dear saboteur."nodded Wiseman, who looked very pleased about something.

"_Saboteur?_"breathed Cherie, now completly lost.

"Don´t deny it, Cherie! You over-inflated the bashers so that you could win the round easy."accused Nick, pointing his finger at her.

"Yeah! And you also sabotaged the other rounds as well!"nodded Archie, pointing as well.

"We finally chaught you in the act!"exclaimed Tex, pointing too.

"What are you four on about?! I didn´t sabotage the round!"exclaimed Cherie, standing up.

She looked at the others present there and saw, that they sported looks of utmost disgust.

"You entered because of Miles! And I know, that you _never_ play fair."said Lola crossing her arms.

"That´s right."nodded April, crossing hers as well and glaring the girl as furiously as Lola.

"You´ve gone too far thistime, Cherie."said Phil fiercely, the fact that his cousin was now in the room infront of them boiling his blood.

"But I´m telling you, I DIDN´T do it!"exclaimed Cherie, loking at them franticly – wondering just how in the hell could they associate the incident with **her**.

Billy gave out a sad sigh.

"There was a time I would say that I believe you, Cherie. I thought that you´ve learnt your lesson when you tried to get the Tofus out of town. I thought you´ve changed... but I see I was wrong. And Steve paid the price for it... I realize that this falls on deaf ears, but he´s in _love_ with you, Cherie. Though I have to say, that I can´t even understand WHY."

Cherie felt a powerfull pang. She gulped hard in order to fight down the sob that was threatening to escape her.

"Wait a minute everyone."said Dr Spock drawing all attenrion to himself.

Though he trusted the young teens there, the same couldn´t be said for the Brotherhood.

"I want to know how you came to the conclusion, that Cherie here is responsible for the sabotage."

Wiseman smiled gleefully and reached into his still drenched detective coat.

"Simple. We have evidence."

He pulled out a small air-pump and shown it to both of them.

"We suspected one of the contestants may be behind it and we searched their cabins. THIS was found in YOUR cabin, Ms Peters."

Cherie gasped, knowing what this means... but.

"Care to explain how it got into your cabin, Ms Peters?"asked Wiseman gleefully.

Cherie shook her head.

"Its not mine! I don´t know how it could get there, but I swear that its not mine!"

She saw at once, that no one believed her.

"I´m afraid that nothing you say can help you Ms Peters. Under the weight of the evidence and as Beauvillage´s detective, I place you under arrest. You will come with us to the police station."said Wiseman as he opened the palm of his free hand and gestured to Archie.

Archie at once reached into his pocket and took out a set of handcuffs.

"No way!"breathed Cherie utterly shocked.

"I agree with them for once, Cherie. You will pay for what you´ve done."said Lola fiercely as Wiseman came closer and placed the handcuffs on her hands.

"No wait! You can´t do this!"yelled Cherie as Wiseman turned and steered her towards the direction all of them came from.

"Its useless to struggle, Cherie. You have been chaught red-handed by the Brotherhood of the Wise."said Nick smirking as he assisted Wiseman in steering her towards the exit dispite her protests.

"Do we read her her rights, brother Fred?"asked Archie as they left.

Watching them leave, Billy sighed sadly. Lola placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Dr Spock scratched his head, but saw that Chichi and Phil moved closer to him.

"How is he, Dr Spock? Is he allright?"asked Phil, concern showing in his eyes and reflected in the eyes of his best friend.

"He´s sleeping right now, boys. A broken arm, but that´s the worst of it. You may all come in to see him, but quietly please. He needs his rest right now."

Their visit didn´t take long, due to the fact that Steve was fast asleep. April also took the chance to spend a bit of time with her parents. The fact, that they had their night-ward today meant that April would once more be spending the night at the Tofu household along with Billy. Chichi however was very quiet indeed, barely saying anything for the remainder of the day as though deeply thinking about something. This little mood of his was very visible on him even as nightime came and it was time for bed.

"Chichi? I´m talking to you."said April happily as Chichi´s direction was diverted from the work-table in his room.

"Sorry... I was thinking about something."he muttered apologetically.

April giggled a bit.

"I said, that Lola asked me to swich with Billy in her room."she said.

Chichi quickly looked at the clock on his table. Sure enough, it was five minutes to midnight. He was so focused, that he completly neglected the time. That also explained the swich, because Pop, Mom and Buba would surely be fast asleep at this time of night. And once more, Lola took the oppoturnity of that to spend the night cuddled to her boyfriend. April happily accepted the swich. In fact, the girls agreed on the entire matter with much glee. The perfect plan in her eyes – Lola spending the night with Billy and _she_ getting to sleep next to her beloved Chichi honey-bun. Chichi´s cheeks took on a deep blush when he realized, April is standing next to him in her pyjamas. Noticing the blush, April giggled again but diverted her gaze on his work-table.

"Sooo... what are you working on?"she asked, viewing the newspapers, notes and his open notebook, where he scribbled his musings.

Quickly recompozing himself Chichi stood up and stepped to his window, surveying the full-moon.

"I´m looking over everything that went down in the contest. Something is off..."he said thoughtfully.

April at once knew what was going trough his mind.

"Chichi... Cherie was behind everything. Wiseman dealt with her and serves her right. You saw the pump. Its obvious now, who´s behind the sabotage."she said the last part fiercely, sharing Lola´s dislike for the said girl.

Chichi´s eyebrows furrowed as he once more mused on it.

"Yeah... _too_ obvious."

...

The very next day the entire incident was published in almost every newspaper. Various titles spoke of a scandal and caused poor Mayor Haveitall to faint in his office early in the morning with Angie taking care of him. However, as Lola noticed upon her and Billy´s visit at Town Hall before school, Angie was rather bubbly and giggly causing quite a few small accidents. Lola wondered briefly if she shouldn´t hang around and help out, but didn´t think Professor Morter would appretiate her missing out class once again – the woman being furious about it as it were. The titles also featured the reason for the sabotage, as Wiseman took the liberty of providing the answers for the media. Cherie was now ostracized heavily, though she was released from the police station yesterday upon the arrival of her parents. Her mother refused to believe her "little angel" could be responsible for the sabotage and her father also supported her though he didn´t seem so convinced of his daughter´s innocence. Cherie was however hurt most, when she visited Steve upon being relased. Steve it seemed refused to believe her and didn´t let her explain anything before Dr Olivia Spock came into the room and ushered her from it, saying that Steve needs his rest. Cherie couldn´t remember the last time she cried so much as that night. She cried herself to sleep and was still feeling horrible when she woke. She decided to walk to school, needing fresh air. She noticed many eyes upon her and all of them were looking very hostile.

"_This can´t get any worse._"she thought to herself miserably.

"Cherie."

THAT voice chilled her bones. Looking around she saw, that Mrs Rowan was walking up to her, her hands full of bags as she moved up the pavement from the supermarket. Cherie considered running away. This was Steve´s MOTHER. Her son is in hospital and _she_ herself is considered to be the blame. Upon coming closer however, Mrs Rowan´s face shown concern rather than hostility.

"You look terrible, dear."she said quietly, looking her up and down.

"I feel even worse, Mrs Rowan."answered Cherie truthfully.

"Stevie spoke to me a while ago. I was visiting him before going to the market."

Cherie gasped.

"Mrs Rowan, I swear I didn´t do a thing to sabotage the round! I really didn´t cheat thistime! No one believes me, though..."

Mrs Rowan sighed sadly.

"Stevie doesn´t eighter I´m afraid. He told me that he would love to, but I´m afraid he´s as convinced about the thing as the others are."she said surveying her closely.

Cherie looked at the pavement as she felt a yet another pang, that almost made her start crying again. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"He told me, that he would like to believe you... however Cherie... **I** believe you."

Cherie gasped and looked up almost not daring to believe it. The older woman smiled at her gently.

"I can see, that you´ve been crying. All night probably. You wouldn´t do such a thing JUST for being chaught at something."

Cherie felt tears sting her eyes, but thistime out of gratitude towards this amazing woman.

"You love my son, am I right?"

Her question kinda startling her, but since Steve was placed into the clinic´s room, Cherie knew the answer to that question.

"Yes. I do, Mrs Rowan. But... but what can I **do**?! He thinks I´m guilty! He won´t let me explain!"she asked desperately, now letting the tears fall freely.

Marion Rowan thought to herself for a second and fixed her with a supportive smile.

"Then you must **fight** for it, dear. If you really didn´t do it, you must prove who _did_. If to no one else, then Stevie. You must fight for him, Cherie – and thistime not in some contest."she said sagely.

Cherie´s face was clearing. Knowing she had _her_ support meant the world to her.

The knowledge not only emboldened her, but helped her troughout most of the day, since her classmates didn´t hide their feelings of resentment one bit. Even Nina and Zoe, though they gave her sympathetic looks kept their distance from her over the course of the day.

"_Stevie would surely be at my side in times like this._"she pondered over the course of Professor Philips´ class, the thought only straightening her resolve to clear her name and clear everything up with the boy she truly loves.

She was kinda afraid, that Professor Philips would show some resentment towards her, but was surprised. To the mystery of the entire class, Professor Rodney Philips seemed positively shining in happiness, joking around and being litterally the life of the class, acting much like a teenager THEY were.

"Jeez, what´s wrong with Philips? He seems to be like... 20 years younger."mused Mary, the moment when Professor Philips exited the room.

"Yeah. Something real good must´ve happened. But what? After yesterday´s fiasco?"pondered Julia as everyone except Cherie gathered up infront of the class.

Lola pondered about it and suddenly came up with an answer. But she knew better than to say it outloud. Remembering Angie´s bubbly mood this morning and now Rodney´s happy one, she knew that it didn´t take the genius mind of her younger brother to puzzle this out. Lily by the looks of it, was in the same bubbly mood, which only meant that she will have to have a nice, loooooong talk with her.

"Don´t even mention that fiasco."muttered Billy.

"Yeah. The entire thing could´ve ended up nicely, if not for a _certain someone_."said Joe darkly.

As one, the faces of the entire class looked at Cherie, who was sitting in the back and gazing trough the window seemingly in her own world.

"_How am I going to prove, that it wasn´t me who sabotaged the race?_"she pondered for what felt like the milionth time.

She tried with all her might to think WHO could be responsible for the over-inflation, but once more came up empty-handed. Knowing by now that she couldn´t possibly puzzle this out on her own, she considered asking Wiseman and his brotherhood for help, but immediately dismissed the thought. Wiseman thought she was guilty and was stone-cold convinced of it. There´s no way they could help... But who...? She suddenly gasped as the answer came to her.

"_He... maybe__** he**__ could... but still asking help from __**HIM**__?!_"

She instantly scrowled at the prospect. Her pride shouting a loud and clear "_NO_", Cherie weighted her chances – he perhaps _would_ be able to help her, but she wasn´t sure he would be willing to do so and she wouldn´t want to come to him groveling like a beaten puppy. Trying to make up her mind, she looked away from the window to see most of her class was already out of the classroom. The only two that remained were Billy and Lola. She watched as Billy passed Lola her bag and took her by the hand, Lola rewarding the gesture with a sweet kiss as they too left. Looking around the empty classroom, her eyes fell on one particular desk – the one which was ussually occupied by Steve. Her eyes looked at the spot longingly and for a small second she let her imagination roam free, replaying the very same scene she witnessed but with different actors. She saw in her mind´s eye her Stevie passing her her bag, the adorable blush on his face upon his reward... Her mind was made up in one instant.

"_**Screw pride!**_"

...

Chichi and Phil endured many curious questions over the course of their school day. However to Phil´s surprise, Chichi seemed to be suddenly very supportive of gossip. He chatted freely with almost everyone who came asking. This attracted as much curiosity from April and Chloe, who were also mystified at Chichi´s sudden change of views. More so, Phil got the feeling as though Chichi was waiting for something to happen, judging by the fact that he was checking the time quite frequently and spacing out here and there over the course of the entire day. Phil couldn´t shake the feeling, that his best friend was once more up to something.

"Chichi m´man, what´s up?"he finally asked as they exited their final lesson of the day.

Chichi grinned at him.

"Oh you know... this and that..."he said idly.

Phil shook his head and grinned at him.

"Come on dude... I´m your _best friend_ remember? You could finally let **me** in on what´s going on in your head."

Chichi smiled as they went trough the main door, but swiftly turned a serious look on Phil.

"Not right now, Phil. I´ll explain everything in the Hole."he said quietly.

Phil came to a realization and nodded, while Chichi´s serious look vanished and was replaced once again with his happy-go-lucky one.

"_No wonder Lil modeled Detective Razor after him._"mused Phil smirkingly.

Suddenly the twosome heared Phil´s name being called. Turning around they saw a small group of nine-grade girls. Among them was the girl Phil had a crush on – Nicolette. All of them were waving at them and gesturing for them to join them on their side of the schoolyard.

"Go ahead."said Chichi, grinning at his best friend like a maniac.

Phil´s cheeks turned red.

"I... I´d rather not..."

Chichi grinned deviously and reached for Phil´s shoulders – which was surprisingly easier to do, now that he was a bit taller.

"Phil... take it from your best friend – GET OVER THERE!"he said as he steered his best friend towards their direction and gave him a gentle push.

Phil fixed him with a blushing, sheepish look.

"Just remember... four ´o clock in the Hole."said Chichi giving him a small hand-sighn before turning and leaving the schoolyard.

Over his shoulder he saw Phil make his way towards the girls.

"Yup... love is in the air."he thought happily as he made his way trough the street, aiming for home.

As he was moving along a crowded street, he suddenly felt a pair of arms on his shoulders grab him and pull him into a side-alley. His reflexes kicking in he swiftly reached with both of his hands for one of the hands that held his shoulders and yanked it with all his might infornt of himself in a rotating movement. He saw a girl stumble before him and hit the nearby trashcan with a thud.

"Ouch! Take it easy!"she exclaimed and Chichi instantly realized who she was.

"You shouldnt´ve grabbed me like that. Anyway, what do YOU want?!"he asked, his face taking on a small glare.

Cherie recomposed herself and walked towards him.

"I... I need your... your... help."she stammered out, struggling a bit to get the last word out.

Chichi quirked an eyebrow, folding his arms.

"Help? _You_? Asking a _Tofu_ for help?"he asked skepticly.

Cherie took a small breath, knowing this won´t be easy.

"Yes... and this is no scheme if that´s what you´re wondering... no, I... I really need your help. I didn´t... didn´t sabotage those bashers and I need your help to prove I didn´t."she said, doing all she possibly could to swallow her pride, praying that this boy will hear her plea.

Chichi´s expression didn´t change one bit as he folded his arms.

"After _everything_ you´ve done over the years... all the cheating, all those shcemes, all those times your little stunts caused us to have a hard time, _all_ those times I´ve seen my sister cry because of something you did _or_ messed up **and **after that near-war with the Hubbubs, I´m supposed to say yes and help _you_?"he asked, his eyes narrowing.

Cherie looked at the ground, Chichi´s question making her realize just how much happened over the years. For a small moment she envied Lola for having a sibling who would defend her like that – something she quietly envied everytime she saw evidence of that – never wanting to admit it to herself. Though self-criticly (something she grew very much accustumed to in the last 24 hours) she wouldn´t blame him for turning her plea down, she resolved once more to carry out the deed no matter what it took.

"Yes... please, Chichi... _please_... I have no one else to turn for help... you´re my last chance to clear myself."she said bringing her hands together in a gesture of pleading.

"Before I even _consider_ my answer, I would very much like to know what pushed you into this... just out of curiosity."he said purposely.

Cherie bit her lip, unsure about _what_ to tell him. This was the brother of her arch-rival afterall. On the other hand... she had nothing to lose now and the tone of his question made her quite sure that his answer will depend on HERS. She therefore decided for something which was very unfamiliar, especialy in the face of her rivals – _the truth_.

"I... I want to prove it wasn´t me who sabotaged the round. Not just to everyone in Beauvillage but to... a certain someone."she said, biting her lip upon admiting it.

Chichi´s quirked eyebrow remained the same, however his face was now showing utmost surprise.

"Steve?"he asked in utter amazement.

Cherie bit her lip harder, almost drawing blood in the process.

"Yes! I... I love him... and I want to make it right... that´s why..."

She noticed Chichi looking at her with an analytical look - seeing he was in deep thought. She allowed a moment of silence to pass as she was waiting for his answer.

"Okay... let´s say I believe you and that I´ll help you. But for that I´ll need to know _everything_. Everything you did or DIDN´T do over the course of the entire contest. Also everyone who was involved. Everything EXCATLY how it happened."

Chichi felt an immence sence of relief, one that was visibly showing on her face.

"_Hocus... Pocus... Ca-ca-ca... Caramba..._"

Chichi at once reached into his pocket, his face showing utmost happiness.

"Yes, Mr Gee... yea... oh... I´d imagine... yea...well..."he paused, thinking over something.

"...I´ll talk to Trashbin – I mean, Mr Skylark and see about it... yea, that´d be cool... we´re having a meeting tonight, I´ll tell them... yea... I´m sure Mayor Haveitall will be for the idea... yea... okay... I´ll call you back around nine pm... okay... thanks."

Cherie was astounded... Gee? As in _Christopher Gee_? This kid was obviously hiding much more than anyone knew. She watched with amazement as Chichi deactivated his phone and placed it back into his pocket.

"Okay, Cherie... you´ll have to tell me everything. You´ve been disqualified so I can´t get you back into the contest, but let´s say that my suspitions about the bonus round are growing and the fingers are almost certainly pointing the wrong way. Tell me everything you know."

Cherie was barely able to contain the feeling of relief and happiness as she quickly started to retell the entire story.

...

Jaq La Jolie knew that it was a good idea to remain in Beauvillage for a few days more. He, Gerard and Gabriel spent most of the two days after the incident observing and eavesdropping many conversations around town. It quickly became apparent that the incident had indeed drawn the interest of the media as planned. However Jaq quickly realized, that framing one of the contestants may have been a mistake. Once the girl have been dealt with and the incident was very well published, it failed to achieve the effect he wanted. Whatsmore this morning an announcement was made to both Beauvillagers and the media at large saying, that the final round will take place as planned in mere days. The interest grew even more following the announcement made by Lis Milo at Town Hall saying, that she was withdrawing from the contest. Thanking her fans for their support she apologized and explained that winning the contest was not her motive, that she entered the contest for fun and that she "_already has all that she possibly could want_" – the mystery girl scored high points with the media even without revealing her true identity and it will no doubt become one of the Town´s legends – a mystery which even the famous Detective Wiseman wasn´t able to crack.

The announcement of the contest´s final round also included a public explanation of the round´s objective by Mr Skylark. Following a late-night meeting from the following night it was decided that the last round will be a free discipline and that the winner will be decided by three factors – _popularity_ points gathered from the website and phonecall votes by the fans over the course of the round, _skill_ points made by the three judges and so-called _homebase_ points, which would be given by Beauvillagers themselfs – a kind of vote for the best girl. Jaq had to admit, that he had his work cut out for him thanks to this. There was no telling what the contestants were going to do, making it very difficult to prepare any way of sabotaging them at all – he felt certain, that discovering what each girl will be doing is going to need some expert spying.

"_Well... at least this will be a challenge worthy of someone like me..._"he thought with a smirk as he sat in the Moonshade Café.

Still in his guise as simply Jack he was completly unnoticed as his ears were wide open for any information among the gossiping girls that may prove usefull, even as Mrs Sweetlong had served him a yet another of her famous cakes. Other than a few gossips about the girl - Cherie and what a disgrace she brought on Beauvillage for cheating in live tv, Jaq was coming up empty-handed. He wondered briefly whether he could rectify his mistake with Cherie by framing her again – that would definitely glue the dirt on her in the eyes of Beauvillagers, he heared enough about her to be sure of that. Suddenly his interest peaked when he looked out the window and saw the very girl he was thinking about walking the street. Deciding at once, that tailing her would be a more productive course of action than eavesdropping gossiping girls, he stood up and went for the door – not even finishing his cake. Moving across the street behind her, he was once more proud of his disguise – he blended in with the crowd perfectly, no one was paying the slightest bit of attention to him, least of all the girl he was shadowing. He pondered for a while where could this girl be off to in such a hurry. His question was answered when they reached Beauvillage Clinic – he knew that Steve was in there, but what was this girl´s relation to him? Very quietly he shadowed her up the stairs to the medical ward and looked on from the end of the hall as she entered a room before following.

Cherie smiled gently as she layed her eyes on Steve, still lying in bed but chatting happily with none other than Chichi. Upon noticing her, both boys flashed her smiles though Chichi´s small smile was nothing compared to Steve´s beaming one.

"I was just filling him in on everything."explained Chichi as he got up from the visitor´s chair.

"You´ve got everything planned then?"inquired Cherie, inwardly feeling a deep relief.

Chichi nodded smilingly as he moved towards her and the door.

"I think so. There are a few things I have left to do though. Anyways I´m sure you two have a lot to talk about so I´ll go now."he said, flashing a wink to Steve who smiled in appretiation.

"Thanks a milion, Chichi."he said as happy as one can be.

Chichi smiled his infamous grin before he left the room, leaving them completly alone. As he exited the room and closed the door however saw a shaggy bispectalled blonde boy standing next to the next room´s door, seemingly waiting for someone. Shrugging it off he turned and went towards the stairs not noticing the calculating look the older boy was shooting him.

The moment Chichi closed the door to Steve´s room, Cherie moved in a heartbeat – cathing Steve in a warm embrace, an undescribable feeling of happiness coursing trough every fiber of her being. She was however carefull of his right arm, which was in a sling and pressed to his chest.

"I´m so sorry, Cherie..."whispered Steve, returning the hug with his healthy arm, pressing her to him not wanting to ever let go.

"I should´ve trusted you..."

Cherie momentarily broke the tight hug to look at him, yet still kept her arms around him.

"**I´m** the one who´s sorry, Stevie..."she whispered, looking at him as gently as she possibly could.

"... sorry, that I haven´t noticed what was under my nose all along. Sorry for all those times I must´ve hurt you... sorry for getting you into this bed to begin with and sorry for not listening to you right from the start. Can you ever forgive me?"

Steve´s heart was almost bursting with happiness – finally he was hearing the words he sooooo longed to hear - it almost seemed like a dream come true. With eyes shining behind his glasses he cupped her cheek gently.

"Cherie..."he all but whispered, trying so hard to find the words but falling to do so on an epic level.

Cherie however read out most of it even without them and with a small giggle moved her face closer and chaught his lips in a love-filled kiss that seemed to go on forever, until they parted.

"I love you, Stevie... and I promise – everything will be all right from now on."she said passionately before moving in for another kiss, that oozed even more love than the previous one.

Watching the scene from the slightly open door (which the pair completly failed to notice), Jaq smiled deviously.

"_That´s what __**you**__ think._"

...

Arriving in the Hidehole, Chichi played several possibilities of sabotage in his mind. He intended to counter each and every one of them and was happy that Trashbin had provided him with copies of the plans his people were making just now – enlarging the podium at Town Hall Square and fixing it for the needs of the final round under Police protection that Wiseman had provided. Both Trashbin and Mayor Haveitall placed all their hopes into _him_ rather than Wiseman and he vowed not to let them down. Also, while he was no fan of Cherie he really felt that someone (and he had a very sneaky suspition he knew who) framing her with the Dingy-basher fiasco was a very low move. Lola and April strongly voiced their opinions when he informed the gang of everything and both are still a bit furious with him for siding with Cherie, though agreeing that this saboteur HAS to be stopped. He confessed his suspitions to Lily, Phil, Billy and Miles since the two girls stomped out of the Hidehole angerly and they agreed, that if the saboteur is indeed the person he suspects, any rivalry in Beauvillage has to go aside – Lily and Billy sharing a sound dislike for the said person and Miles and Phil conviced that if the matter was left to the Brotherhood it would positively end up in a _failiure_. So each of them agreed to do anything to help, but Chichi needed to sort out his plan first. Not to mention that his best friend started to spend time with the 9th Grade girls – particurally Nicolette, who confessed her feelings to Phil and the two were on their very first date just now. Chichi was very happy for his best friend and Lily happily embraced him upon hearing the news.

"_Well done, little guy._"she exclaimed happily as she ruffled his head, completly bubbly about it.

However Chichi didn´t see the same happiness when Lily announced in the Tofu house on the very same night after the disasterous race not only the fact, that she was Lis (Billy, April and Phil were utterly shocked upon this revelation, while the Tofu siblings shared a cheeky laugh), but also the fact that she and Miles were now an item. April and Lola rejoiced greatly upon this news hugging the poor girl almost to death in their joy, Billy smilingly congratulating both Miles and Lily, but Chichi saw for a slight moment that his best friend seemed a bit stumped for a moment. Though he immediatly covered it up with a smile and congratulated them, Chichi couldn´t shake off the feeling that something was a miss there. Recalling the Bunglewood adventure he wondered, whether Phil wasn´t harboring secret feelings for the mystery-girl – however he was completly unsure now if it was Lily _OR _ Lis he had a possible crush on. Nevertheless he figured it must´ve been a crush since he was now dating Nicolette. Shaking it off he decided to focus on the problem at hand as he opened the door to the Hidehole. Suddenly he was treated to a sight of Miles and Lily sitting on the couch, making-out passionately.

"Woooah. Tone it down a bit, you lovebirds."he said cheekily as the two noticed him come trough the door and stopping at once.

Both blushed crimson-red and gave him a sheepish look. Since getting together they only informed the gang about it. Because of the contest, they decided to make their relationship public after it ends. That of course meant, that their recent make-out sessions were minimal and only in places where they wouldn´t be seen – like the Hidehole for instance.

"Sorry, Chich... got a bit carried away here."said Miles scratching his head, grinning like a maniac.

Chichi folded his arms and adopted a mock-stern pose.

"Lucky I arrived just in time. Otherwise you might´ve gotten carried away _too much_."he said, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously.

Lily and Miles´ faces took on even more red color at what he was implying.

"Oh no no no, Chichi. Definitely NOT here. I´m saving _my room_ for such an occasion."said Lily, playing along with Chichi´s joke.

Miles also chaught on and nodded feverishly.

"I agree with my flower-girl. Though I can´t see what´s wrong about doing it in my trusty van..."

The trio shared a humorous laugh before moving to the master-table where a big computer was. Once seated on his chair, with Miles on his right side and Lily on the left one, Chichi adopted a serious look.

"So I´m taking into consideration many possible ways of sabotaging the round. I´ll need several things which may not be easy to get a hold of, Miles."

Miles did a small sallute.

"You got it, genius-boy. Anything you need is yours."

Chichi smiled and nodded.

"I´ll pay you back for it after the contest."

Miles looked at him and shook his head.

"Chichi, Chichi... you should know very well right now, that I won´t take a dime from _you_."

Lily smiled affectionately as Chichi shook his head.

"I´m not sure about this, Miles. Some of it may not come cheap."

Miles however grinned happily at him.

"That´s no trouble, Chich. I´ll just charge my expences to Mayor Have-man."

Lily at once frowned at him.

"Miles! You know very well, that Mayor Haveitall had it tough these last few days. All of us are trying to cheer him up and handing him a heavy bill is NOT the way to do it!"

Miles raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Okay okay, Lil... I´ll sort it out with Trashbin then. _He_ has no trouble at all."

Lily rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Anyways, I´ll also be needing some support from the boys from our crew. It would also be nice to have someone on hand with a photocamera just in case someone shady shows up and evidence will be needed."said Chichi quickly getting back on topic.

Lily smiled and gave a nod.

"Ready, willing, able and at your service, young sir."

Chichi grinned at her and nodded.

"And Miles... I´ll be counting on you and Philips too to be able to take charge of a situation and divert the attention of the viewers if anything fails."

Miles gave an aprroving nod.

"I´ll tell Rodney ´bout it. He´ll be more than willing to help. What about ol´ Wisey though? You know the Brotherhood is busy with their _Surpreme Investigation_."he said snickering.

Chichi at once joined him in the snicker and Lily started giggling.

It was a well known fact to them, that since the end of the last round the Brotherhood was running around town franticly. Searching and investigating into the mystery of Wiseman´s secret admirer with hilarious situations following at the heel. Already Archie and Tex ended up interrogating almost every young girl in Beauvillage aged from 16 to 21 at the police station – not getting any leads at all. Wiseman ended up being subjected to many girl´s affectionate hugs and glomps – the word of the investigation taking Beauvillage by a storm thanks to Archie´s blabbling mouth and several girls tried to make it appear as though _they_ were the said admirer, while others merely begged the detective to simply pick them as his girlfriend. Just yesterday Wiseman had to lock himself in his office to get away from them and immediatly innitiated a special password upon which he would open the door.

"Wiseman actually did his bit without knowing."said Chichi grinning.

Miles and Lily exchanged surprised looks before looking to Chichi for explanation.

"You see... he insisted on Cherie being locked into one of the holding cells two hours before the start of the final round, leaving her under guard of two policemen."

Lily smacked her forehead whereas Miles merely shook his head.

"I mean really... he found her guilty and all but THIS is taking things a little bit too far."she said grumbling.

"Actually, Lily... this works for our cause. Even _if_ the real saboteur won´t be chaught red handed, Cherie will be cleared of all suspitions, since she´ll be locked and even have two police wittnesses on her side."

As Lily nodded, Chichi turned on his chair and looked behind himself scanning the Hidehole´s room musingly.

"I think we´ll have to bring some stuff from the Hole down too. The more secret weapons we have the better."

His eyes fell upon the rubber-tire statue made by Lis and a mischievous smile played on his lips.

...

The night before Friday – the last round, Jaq was sitting in the room of the tiny motel Beauvillage held in the company of his trusty servants. The deadline was drawing to a close and he felt that they wouldn´t be better prepared no matter how much time left would they have. The five days of eavesdropping and information gathering had given them all the infos they needed, but Jaq was by now very well aware, that this operation would also hold a strong opponent for him.

"This Chichi – kid... this _so-called_ boy-genius... he poses about the most danger."he said as the trio was looking over some of the dozen of drawn plans on the room´s table.

The papers themselfs contained the information overheared from the Beauvillage´s teens, Beauvillage´s adults – since they have been just as ecsastic about the thing, and Beauvillage firms, which provided support for the last round. Troughout the week Jaq and the Robuste Twins had seen how the anticipated final round seemed to have united entire Beauvillage – people working together, some even voulenteering to assist in any way possible. The few firms Beauvillage had like the Home-fix-it offered more than mere material, the Moonshade café and Burger Palace joining in too along with other food-catering places...

All in all the athmosphere in Beauvillage started to resemble the recent Outdoor Sales Day and tourists were coming here and there, not even minding the small check-ups done by the Beauvilage Police. And tommorow, a great many of them would be visiting to wittness the spectacular final round of Miss Beauvillage. For this reason - Jaq suspected, the homebase points were being voted today at Town Hall, resembling an election more than anything. The votes themselfs were boing counted just now by the three judges inside Mayor Haveitall´s office, leaving Jaq absolutely no way of sabotaging the vote. He had overheared the girl he remembered from the Sales Day – April, telling her two of her classmates, that it was the boy-genius who directed most of the going ons for the round and that the mayor and the organizator are listening to his leads. As he pondered on just HOW could a scrawny low-leveled fourteen year old _moutard_ manage to have the support of two such people, he saw April and Chloe give the boy their most glowing, affectionate smiles leaving him blushing and grinning sheepishly.

"We need to make sure, that he won´t be present for the contest."he muttered darkly.

Gerard and Gabriel shared a small look and nodded.

"_Oui_, _parton_."they said together.

"We will have to hide him somewhere though... is there any such a place in this _dull_ town?"he asked looking at the twins expectantly – he tasked the twins in looking for just such places just the other day.

"I know one, _patron_... here. _Un petit vieil entrepôt_..."said Gerard, pointing to the Beauvillage map.

"Excellent. We will hide the brat there."said Jaq smiling deviously.

"_Patron_... why do we have to hide him? Why don´t we just make it look like he had sabotaged the round?"asked Gabriel scratching his head.

Both twins instantly cringed as Jaq glared the pair of them.

"Because, _vous imbecile _... if we did THAT people would question it, it won´t make any sence at all..."he said trough gritted teeth.

"_Pardon, patron._"muttered Gabriel apologeticly.

"Anyway, we also have to make sure that the girl – Cherie is seen at the scene."

At this piece, both the twins looked at eachother in confusion, but knew better than to ask why.

Jaq smirked to himself as he recounted the scene he wittnessed at the Clinic. From what he´d seen and what he put together, he had the perfect plan in mind the moment he left the clinic. Standing up he walked to the backpack which contained the two pairs of girl´s clothing he bought just today.

"The greatest act of this little play..."he said viciously as he shown the twins the clothes and proceeded on explaining them the plan.

...

Cherie was quite sure, she never imagined to find herself sitting in the Moonshade café next to her now boyfriend and opposite the brother of her arch-rival, but like she learned during the past week – things had a manner of changing. Due to the fact, that the student´s minds as well as the professors´ would be waaay too occupied on the contest, the mayor in accordance with the principals Whiterose and Knowmuch yesterday declared a day-off from school for the Friday. The town was in a state of utter ecstasy and nearly everyone was busy here and there, anticipating the start of the final round at 5 pm at Town Hall Square, where a magnificent podium was built and seating areas were set up for those who prefered to be a bit further from the action. Done with the preparations, Chichi went straight for the café, knowing that Steve would be there with Cherie, before she went to the Police station.

"So you´ve got everything worked out?"asked Cherie curiously as Chichi sat down after placing his order.

"Yup. I was a bit surprised that you, Cherie wanted to meet up at the Moonshade."

Cherie´s face saddened a bit.

"This is about the only place left in Beauvillage where people don´t glare me on sight."

A smile crossed her features however as she felt Steve take her hand, rubbing it with his thumb in a soothing manner.

"Don´t worry, Cherie. By nightfall, everything will be okay."

Though more than appretiative of the gesture, Cherie still felt a twinge of worry. A small unease, a possibility that something disasterous is bound to happen.

"Yea... just to be on the safe-side, I´ve arranged it, so the two policemen who are supposed to be guarding you will come here and escort you to the police station."said Chichi smilingly.

Both Cherie and Steve looked very surprised. Unable to contain himself Chichi chuckled in obvious amusement.

"Daniel Rogers voulenteered to be one of the guards."

Steve´s eyes went wide in realization.

"Vic... You asked him trough Victor, right?"

Chichi grinned, confirming his suspition.

"I don´t really trust Wiseman and his brotherhood, you know..."

Steve chuckled while Cherie shook her head in awe.

"You really think of everything, don´t you?"she asked unable to contain herself.

Chichi blushed lightly at the small praise.

"Well... let´s hope I do..."he muttered as Steve´s chuckle was upgraded to a laugh.

Before anyone could say anymore, Chichi´s order was being served by none other than...

"Emily? What´re you doing here?"asked Chichi pleasantly, surprised a bit as he saw his classmate in a waitress-apron serve him his cake.

"Helping the folks. With so many visitors they really needed my help over the week."she answered smiling at Chichi.

Steve smiled too, but Cherie couldn´t help the small feel of unease return to her. Unlike most of the town, the Sweetlongs took the suspitions about the sabotage neutrally, Mrs Sweetlong treating her just the same as though nothing happened, but Cherie knew that Emily was dating Archie and he was a member of the brotherhood that arrested her. However upon closer look, Emily looked just as neutral about the matter as her parents – the fact making Cherie breath a sigh of relief, for she really wasn´t up for more antagonism.

"Does that mean you´ll be serving along with your parents as the contest goes down?"inquired Steve curiously.

Emily shook her head smilingly.

"Mom insisted I go out there and have some fun. We´re meeting up with the gang before the contest. Just about everyone from our class will be there, Chichi. Well... except you, Phil and my teddy-bear with his brothers."

Chichi chuckled dispite himself.

"Don´t I know it, Emily..."

He would´ve prefered the brotherhood staying away from the backstage, but Wiseman had insisted they be on hand should something happens.

"Well... I hope you guys will be around for the after-party Oliver is organizing. You´re invited too, right?"

Chichi nodded in agreement. It took him years to be recodnized enough in the class´ most popular kid´s eyes to finally be invited to his parties, which he must admit were very fun sometimes. Emily simply nodded back and left, going off to do some more work.

"Anyway, Chichi... I owe a big thanks to you for all this..."said Cherie.

Chichi waved it off gallantly, shaking his head as Cherie turned to Steve.

"... and I owe _you_ just as much for the beautifull new dress you´ve bought me."she said gesturing to her new fashionable red and black dress.

Steve blushed as Cherie´s hand gently outlined his cheek before going to his hair.

"But I didn´t..."stammered Steve, shuddering in pleasure as Cherie played with his hair.

"The package left on our doorstep with "My Sweetheart" on the card... really Stevie... you are the sweetest boy I have ever met."she said passionately as she moved in for an equally passionate kiss.

Chichi grinned and busied himself with his cake as the kiss went on. Suddenly the café´s door opened and Daniel Rogers walked in dressed in his uniform and waved in greeting.

"Daniel, nice to see you. Thanks for the favor."grinned Chichi as Daniel walked to their table and shook his hand with him.

"My pleasure, Chichi. I want to see the case solved and well... you´ve been right in the past and helped us out too. Plus Vic is really looking up to you..."

Chichi shrugged as Cherie and Steve parted and Cherie stood up.

"You´re in good hands, Cherie."said Steve, trying to soothe her some more.

Chichi nodded.

"Its just a precaution, don´t worry. Daniel... call me if something´s up."

Daniel nodded and escorted Cherie out of the café. Steve breathed a deep sigh as the door closed.

"Well... let´s pay our bill and go out. The Cygnuville party will be arriving soon."said Chichi.

Steve nodded.

"Sorry about you having to go get the stuff I left at home with me. Its not easy though... with my right hand and all."he said looking at his right arm still in _a sling_.

"No problem, Steve."said Chichi smilingly.

Steve nodded and stood up.

The two boys stepped out of the café and saw, that Town Hall Square was already crammed full of people. It was common knowledge to Beauvilagers, that the final round will also host a number of very importaint celebrity guests. It was already confirmed, that the celebrities present on the Outdoor Sales Day will be returning along with Mayor La Jolie, who came to see how the bet with his Beauvillage collague had ended – since it was published straight after the Dingy-Basher incident. Also confirmed was the attendance of the president of the National Orphan Charity Organization since the event – brilliantly sponsored, was to serve a fund-raising purpose too. The money raised from the entire event would be given to the organization, once more raising the profile of not just Beauvillage but its _Two Men with Hearts of Gold_ too. What raised the public´s curiosity however was the fact, that two more high celebrities were supposed to attend as well. However, as they came at the invintation of Milton Weasel and Johnny Jack, no one was sure _who_ would come. But for the last two days Beauvillagers were happily guessing and discussing who could it be – Lola and Lily were very giggly as they had a pretty good hunch who Johnny Jack called. Both of them were already present at Town Hall along with Chichi´s crew minus Steve, Titus Hubbub and Pop Tofu, Rodney and Angie and of course Mayor Haveitall who was looking extremly tense.

"They should be here by now... I do hope nothing has gone wrong."he said nervously double-checking his watch.

"Calm down, Dad. Nothing will go wrong."said Angie in a soothing voice as all of them waited in his office.

"How can I calm down, sweetheart? If something _goes_ wrong thistime its the clown-suit for me..."he exclaimed panicly.

"Chichi is on the job, Mr Mayor."Victor piped up and many of the people present nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. He has a plan to catch the saboteurs red-handed and still not disrupt the contest."nodded Joe.

This did nothing to calm the frantic mayor.

"Yes, yes... but still... the guests are slowly arriving and..."

"Everything is prepared downstairs, mayor Haveitall. The seatings, the refreshments and everything to make our guests feel right at home."said Pop Tofu and Titus nodded.

"And _safe_ too... I already installed some security systems just in case. And with Beth and Violet catering, they couldn´t ask for a greater hospitality."said Titus puffing his chest proudly.

True - Mom Tofu, Beth, Buba, Natalie Conners and Julia Robins took up to preparing the Town Hall´s conference room since early morning providing and preparing everything, so that the famous guests would not be dissapointed. Though Mayor Haveitall nearly fainted when he saw, that Mom and Buba had brought in Curly, Suzie and Cracker, however the animal trio proved to be of much help.

"I´m still not sure about this..."muttered the mayor, pacing up and down.

"Have no fear, mayor Haveitall."called a voice from the door.

Everyone´s heads turned to see Detective Wiseman walking in along with his three brothers – their sunglasses gleaming.

"My men are on the job securing every post neccessary and I have personally locked the saboteur in our holding cell and left two men on guard."said Wiseman proudly.

Most of the people gasped, not knowing about Wiseman´s plans for Cherie.

"Detective Wiseman... isn´t that a bit ... well... too much?"asked the mayor, positively shocked.

Wiseman however shook his head.

"It may seem that way to you, but I am taking no chances. The saboteur is locked away and we can proceed without worry."

Billy, Lily and Phil shared dark looks – Wiseman really swallowed the entire sabotage ploy not even double-checking whether something is not off. The three of them staunchly believed that Chichi´s suspitions are geniune. Wiseman looked around for a bit, scanning the people in the office behind his infamous sunglasses.

"We seem to be missing a few people here."he said suspitiously.

"Yea... Chichi´s not here, Miles also... and Mr Skylark too."said Archie quickly counting the group for good measure.

Wiseman seemed to take this into consideration.

"Young Chichi, hm...? I wonder..."he mused.

"He went with Steve to his house. Steve needs help bringing his stuff here, since he has a brocken arm."answered Billy quickly while Lola shot Wiseman a small glare – he was still suspecting, that Chichi might somehow be linked to the sabotage.

"Oh... and what about...?"

"WASSSUUUUUUP?!"

The loud yell from behind made jump forward before turning furiously at the newcomer.

"MILES! How many times have I told you NOT to do that?!"exclaimed Lola angerly as Micheal Miles stepped into the office, big as life and twice as cocky.

"EXACTLY, YOU TACTLESS HOOLIGAN! HAVEN´T YOU EVER HEARED OF _**KNOCKING**_?!"yelled Wiseman, clearly agitated even more than Lola as Miles came closer to him.

"´Course I have, Wisey. Look..."he said and proceeded to knock two times on the top of Wiseman´s head.

"Knock, knock..."he added grinning like a maniac.

Most of the people chuckled and giggled at Miles´ obvious playfullness, even Lola gave out a begrudging giggle and the mayor managed a small smile. The brotherhood however didn´t find this amusing and the least of all Wiseman, who pulled out his handcuffs.

"THAT DOES IT! I´M ARRESTING YOU FOR KNOCKING ON A COMMANING POLICE OFFICER!"he yelled.

Miles merely shook his head with a small chuckle.

"Jeez liven up, Wisey-guysey. Anyways... the guests are here."he said to everyone in general.

"WHAAAAAT?!"exclaimed everyone looking at Miles.

"T...they´re _here_?!"asked the now white-faced mayor.

"Sure they are. Arrived three minutes ago. Me and Trashbin welcomed them and took ´em to the conference hall an´ everything. I said, that we´re having a last-minute briefing."said Miles with a shrugg.

It was amazing how such a number of people could get down a narrow staircase so quickly before stopping at the conference hall´s door and waiting for the mayor, who looked like a prisioner walking down the last mile.

"Now calm down, Dad. Everything is going to be all right."said Angie placing a hand on her father´s shoulder.

Mayor Haveitall gave a small, almost childish whine before he felt another hand on his right shoulder.

"You have nothing to worry about, mayor Haveitall. You are not alone in this..."said Rodney gesturing to the people standing behing them. Each of them – young and old, sporting supportive smiles and nodding in agreement.

Feeling the tiny bit of relief evolve into something much more stronger, he suddenly got the feeling he haven´t felt in years – a feeling he had frequently as one of the Green Knights of Beauvillage(as they were now known). With a nod and a look of determination he opened the door completly recomposed.

The conference hall was simply stunning. Both Angie and the mayor couldn´t remember the last time it looked so gourgeous. Decorated so lively and brightly it seemed to glow in different colors. Mom and Buba even provided live flowers for the occasion which were placed neatly here and there. The paintings and scupltures - done by none-other than Balthazar Bunglewood and Matilda Longline years back, were polished brightly and seemed to shine. On the tables were plates and plates of food, drink and snacks – something for everyone to pick at their choosing. The guests were already seated and some were talking to the women and Trashbin as they noticed the group of people arriving trough the door, with their mayor in the lead.

"Johnatan... _tellement agréable de vous voir_."said Jean La Jolie grandeously standing up and spreading his arms open in a gesture of welcome.

Lola and Lily exhanged dark looks at the gesture, but Mayor Haveitall stepped up nonchalantly and embraced his collague.

"Lola, Lily..."called a voice and the two girls saw Johnny Jack walking up to them, his smile genuine.

The greetings they exchanged were as though Johnny wasn´t a famous movie star at all, but rather a favourite cousin that comes by once a year.

"So... these are the girls I should be thanking?"came an obviously amused voice behind them and both Lola and Lily gasped.

Though they never once met the person, they (along with everyone in the country) knew that golden voice. Smiling Johnny made way for a tall, nicely shaped woman of his age. She had blonde hair which curled just like Lily´s and a round face, brilliant green eyes and a button-like nose like Lily. She was dressed in a brilliant and stylish red dress, which really made her stand out.

"Mary, this is Lola Tofu and Lily Robins..."said Johnny introducing them.

Mary Buttons´ face sported a warm smile.

"A pleasure to meet you. And thank you for knocking some sence into this fashion-disaster."she said good-naturedly, pointing her thumb at Johnny, who was dressed in contrast with her.

He had a simple shirt, shorts and a flannel short-sleeved shirt over it and open. On his head was a small hat, which covered his head, but contrasted colorfully with the rest of his clothing.

"Come on, Mary... I´m not THAT bad..."he said, double-checking himself.

Mary let out a gentle giggle and looked at him mischievously.

"Oh yes, you are... look at you... not one single color matches the other. If I didn´t know better, I ´d say you are color-blind."she teased gently and the three girls shared a giggle as Johnny rolled his eyes good-naturely.

"So that means you two are...?"asked Lola happily.

The pair smiled broadly, confirming. Lola and Lily immediatly shared a happy look. During the visit at the Moonshade café, they talked about Johnny´s plan for asking Mary out and the three of them came up with a fool-proof plan, which by the looks of it worked. Johnny grinned boyishly and placed an arm around Mary´s shoulders, Mary returning the affection just as much.

At another corner Milton Weasel had a very spirited greeting with Rodney Philips. Angie couldn´t help but giggle at the sight – the two greeted eachother enthusiasticly and at once sprang into a conversation discussing their views and feelings of the contest and its value. Angie breathed a lovesick sigh – in that slight moment Rodney looked twenty years younger, the thoughtfull idealistic teenager bent on making the world a better place. At that moment, Angie found him completly and utterly irresisable.

"Phil! Billy!"greeted Adam Brians happily and the two boys shook hands with him.

"Everything is ready I hope."asked Christopher Gee, who likewise made his way to the two boys.

Both teens looked at eachother before answering.

"Most of it is. Chichi gave most of us instructions in case something happens. He said, that everyone should know what to do in case something goes wrong."said Phil searching trough his pocket and pulling out two pieces of paper.

"He told me to give these to you."he said, handing the two respective celebrities the papers.

Both of them looked them over and smiled.

"Didn´t leave anything to chance, did he?"said Adam Brians with a smile.

"Most of this I´ve gone trough with him over the phone. And I also decided to bring in some reinforcements."noted Gee happily and turned his sights over his shoulder.

Billy, Phil and Victor who came in closer followed the look and gasped.

"Woah."breathed Billy.

"Is that...?"whispered Victor, while Phil couldn´t believe his eyes.

At the refreshments table, munching happily on a Bethburger stood a small, slightly pulp man in his early thirties. His bald head was utterly reflecting some of the light and a small thin black mustache was prominent on his face. He was plainly dressed in blue short jeans and he wore a black t-shirt which had red writing on it saying "Take it Izzy!".

THIS was the country´s top comedian, who enjoyed immense popularity – Jake "Joke" Izzy.

Christopher Gee smiled mischievously.

"Thought he could liven things up."

Adam Brians laughed.

"Could he EVER. I remember the last party when he was there. I nearly choked on my food."he chortled, fondly recounting the event.

Gee smiled, but a second later his face took on a serious look.

"I only hope, that my and young Chichi´s suspitions are wrong. I would be most ashamed if they weren´t."he said direting his gaze on Mayor La Jolie, who was in conversation with Mayor Haveitall.

"Hope you are ready, Johnatan. Today´s show will decide the victor of our little _bet_."said La Jolie smilingly.

Mayor Haveitall, did all he could to remain composed and nodded.

"Yes... today decides..."he murmured with a smile which didn´t quite reach his eyes, which still reflected some fear and doubt.

"I DO hope nothing goes wrong thistime, Johnatan. And if it **does**... well... I´ve a nice clown suite picked from the _Cygnuville Cirque Magnifique_."said La Jolie with a laugh, which Haveitall could tell WAS geniune.

In an effort to calm himself down and ease his worries, Johnatan looked around. He spied Buba, Jake and Violet Tofu standing at the refreshments table along with Beth and Titus who were in a happy conversation with the other women, who helped set up this magnifiscent welcome. Then he saw Lily Robins and Lola Tofu stand along with Johnny Jack and Mary Buttons - the girls seemed to make fun of Johnny, who returned the teasing with boyish shyness. A larger group a bit further was composed of the Beauvillage´s young ones – the crew and even the brotherhood, Martin Skylark, Adam Brians, Christopher Gee, Miles and Wiseman, all of which were laughing at something Jake Izzy had said with animated gesticulation and Miles joinng in with similar gestures of his own, to great hilarity. Remembering the support they all gave him prior to entering this very room, Johnatan smiled also reflecting on one person who wasn´t present for the moment.

"_Chichi is on the job, Mr Mayor._"he remembered tiny Victor Rogers saying and realized, that with the support of such fine friends things were not as grim as they seemed.

"Don´t count me out yet, Jean. _Vous n'avez pas encore gagné_."he said smilingly and Jean La Jolie was momentarily stunned at his collague´s use of French.

Johnatan took the moment of silence to look around the room once more. Suddenly he noticed someone else missing.

"Jean... where is Jaq? I thought he would be attending along with you."

La Jolie shook his head as if to clear it and smiled.

"Oh, he **will** be present. _Le garçon _took his time to have a small look around."he said idly, though he couldn´t repress a small smirk.

...

Chichi and Steve were now walking the street away from the Rowan household. Mrs Rowan insisted on stocking the pair up with some of her homemade cakes, so that they won´t get hungry. She also insisted on giving a large chocolate bar to Chichi, who was mystified by it.

"She´s happy, that you stuck up for Cherie."explained Steve as soon as they were on the way.

"She knows her for years and she knew that she loves me. And when the incident happened and everyone was blaming her, she stuck up with her telling her to fight for me... she belived her even when **I **didn´t..."said Steve, a small not of sadness present as he said the last words.

Chichi scratched his head, unsure of just how much to say.

"Well... Steve... let´s just say, that it wasn´t easy for me to just say "okay I´ll help you", especially after everything that happened with her and Lola over the years. Lola still can´t forget it and I´m not surprised. She wasn´t really happy when she heared, that I decided to help Cherie and find out who´s really behind it."

Steve bit his lip. He knew from Billy and Lily just how much has happened over the years between Cherie and Lola and it also didn´t please him.

"Girl rivalry... can be a scary thing."he said quietly.

Chichi only sighed and nodded.

"You can say that again..."

"But Chichi... over the last few years, I think she really started to change for the better. I only hope that someday she won´t be afraid to show the person she really is... the girl I love so much..."

Chichi raised his eyebrow at what he heared. Maybe there was more to Cherie than met the eye – Steve certainly thought so...

"The thing is, that she´s an only child and she was pampered for most of her childhood... that made her a bit... well... concieted in some ways. But believe me Chichi, deep down she´s a good person... in time I hope she and Lola can reach a truce."

Chichi pondered on it a bit. It didn´t seem possible after everything that went down over the years. On the other hand, he didn´t really think it possible for Pop, Mom and Buba to reach a truce with Beth and Titus and well... that turned out okay. It was times like this when he thought that they could make Balthazar Bunglewood´s dream of a united, family-like Beauvillage a reality.

"Maybe you´re right... well... time will tell."said Chichi with a small smile as Steve grinned at him.

"Thanks, Chichi. Thanks for believing her and sticking up for her when no one else wanted to. I really owe you a lot for this."

Chichi almost blushed at the praise he was getting from his friend.

"You don´t owe me anything, Steve. It was the right thing to do and... well you know me... once I think something is off, I just keep on prying and snooping until I figure it out."

Steve´s grin grew even more as he recalled the few small snoops Chichi did along with Billy, Phil, Lily and April over the last year, before Detective Wiseman and Michael Miles arrived in Beauvillage.

"You should really think of a career as a Detective, Chichi."

Chichi chuckled at that, shaking his head.

"No thanks. I´ve got other dreams than being... _Wise_."

The pun made both of them share a laugh as they turned around the corner of the street. Suddenly something rushed past them like a blur. Both boys froze as they recodnized the black hair and the dress.

"It can´t be..."breathed Chichi.

"Cherie?!"exclaimed Steve spinning around to take a better look.

Sure enough there was a figure running and taking a turn into a back-alley, which both of them recodnized.

"She should be in the holding-cell right now..."said Chichi quietly, momentarily confused.

"Something must´ve happened."whispered Steve panicly and at once set out in the direction they saw her running.

Chichi double-checked his Gzorbial cell phone as he moved after him. Daniel haven´t called... what was up?! He pondered furiously as he tried to catch-up to Steve, who was running as if for his life.

"Lucky you bought her that new dress. We could recodnize her even in such running speed."noted Chichi as the pair came to the side-alley, which was pretty dark.

Steve shook his head.

"I´ve said so before, Chichi... I didn´t buy the dress..."he said distractedly as he scanned the dark alley, his mind clearly on another matter.

As the two boys walked into the alley and moved more into the dark, where a girl could just be seen in the darkness, crouching besides a trashcan, as though attempting to hide from something, Chichi froze in his tracks – his mind spinning.

"_... and I owe you just as much for the beautifull new dress you´ve bought me."he remembered Cherie saying to Steve, gesturing to her new fashionable red and black dress. _

_Steve blushed as Cherie´s hand gently outlined his cheek before going to his hair._

"_But I didn´t..."stammered Steve._

Chichi replayed the scene in his mind, going trough possibilities as Steve moved closer to the girl besides the trashcan, his voice low and soothing.

"Its all right, Cherie – sweetheart... its okay, we´re here..."he soothed, moving closer to the girl´s form which was shaking from fear.

"_The package left on our doorstep with "My Sweetheart" on the card... really Stevie... you are the sweetest boy I have ever met."_recalled Chichi, sure that that piece of information WAS importaint.

"_I´ve said so before, Chichi... I didn´t buy the dress..."_

Chichi´s eyes snapped open as he put the pieces together.

"STEVE DON´T...!"he cried just as Steve was about to touch the girl´s shoulder.

Suddenly something burst from the shadows and with a loud POW, Steve was falling to the ground clearly unconcious. With a gasp, Chichi froze unsure at what to do as he watched the girl´s figure rise up and stand besides a tall muscular person. Hearing a small sound behind him, Chichi turned his head behind him just in time to see another muscular person aim his stretched fist towards his head. His reflexes kicking in he dived out of the way just in time and the fist came in contact with a rain-pipe, bending the metal on contact. Chichi quickly racked his brains for what should he do... he was surrounded in a dark alley with a narrow, limited space and any way out was blocked by this muscular man. Plus there was Steve to consider, lying on the ground. Deciding that he was no match on his own and he would have to get help, he looked at the advancing big guy, still blocking the only escape from the dark-alley. Chichi readied himself for action, not bothering about who was standing behind him – all he focused on was thinking of some way to outmanoovre the big one and escape the alley. Once out of it, he´ll be able to signal Miles for help.

Suddenly he felt excrutiating pain as his body was hit by a powerfull electric shock. The girl or whoever it was standing behind him had hit him with a paralyzer. Chichi couldn´t even move as his voice struggled to release the scream of pain, but failing miserably under the assault of volts. A few moments passed and the shocking stopped. Completly drained of all strength Chichi slid to the ground instantly, jerking and twitching on the ground as his vision was getting blurry. Trough his blury vision he saw, that the girl – person, who shocked him from the back came closer. Even as he was losing consiousness fast, Chichi heared the amused cold chuckle and the person spoke in a voice that definitely didn´t belong to Cherie.

"_Faites de beaux rêves_, boy-genius."said the voice, Chichi recodnized but right now his numb brain was lacking the energy to associate it.

His vision blurred even more and Chichi slowly closed his eyes as everything went pitch-black.

...

**A/N: **Well as I noticed, this chapter took longer than expected. Many reasons for this – things in life have been getting a bit busy, but also I found myself working and re-working several scenes, determined to make this right (hope I did). And well, the Cygnuvillan party has returned too – I really felt that they should come back, plus with two reinforcements the one last chapter is ahead of us, and things are really going down so stick around for more. Hopefully it´ll be finished sooner than this chapter... Oh and as for the French... I can´t speak French, so I was left to rely on a translator, so there may be some mistakes – sorry if there are...  
HK07


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